


Vampire's Kiss

by ladypredator



Series: Promises To Keep [2]
Category: The X-Files
Genre: F/M, M/M, Multi, Mystery, Romance, developing M/M/F relationship, some violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 1995-07-06
Updated: 1995-07-06
Packaged: 2017-12-15 18:13:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 38,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/852533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladypredator/pseuds/ladypredator
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This story is a sequel to my previous story "Promises to Keep," in which I introduce the character of Jason. This is a mystery adventure with vampires involved. Also this story will contain references to adult sexual activity, and assumes that a love/sexual relationship between Mulder and Scully preexists.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Vampire's Kiss

**Part One**

His eyes burned. Covering them with reddened hands, he twisted and turned in the white sheets of the bed. But there was no escape from the light, it flooded the room in waves of silent heat, piercing every inch of his skin, burrowing through the sheets and the hospital gown. He yearned for the blessed peace of darkness, the familiar shelter of the night. For his freedom and, above all else, for the blood.

The red hunger crashed through him again and again. It was as much a part of him now as his skin and hair and bones. Never satisfied, it would ebb and tide within him, receding, then washing over him in waves of need so intense he couldn't even hear his own screams. Sometimes they would feed him, just enough to keep him from dropping into the relative release of total unconsciousness, then draw the precious fluid back out of him drop by drop with their endless needles.

He tried to fight, once managing to draw a few precious swallows from one of his human jailer's arms, but it had not been enough. They had flooded his cell with the angry light, increasing the intensity until his skin had blackened and his strength had seeped from him like water through a sieve.

A choking bitter laugh escaped through his dry lips, they didn't even bother to tie him down anymore. Instead they left him to the punishing, pulsating light, keeping him weak and controlled, but always alive. Always in torment. Centuries of clinging to life, and now he ached for the death that was denied.

A small part of his mind was still awake enough to wonder what they were doing. Humans had hunted and killed his kind before, but these were deliberately keeping him alive. Feeding him blood, then draining it from him. Poking him and prodding him, wounding him, then watching silently as his nourishment-starved body began to heal itself. What did they want?!

The door opened and another of the white-clad men entered, a syringe in his hand, walking towards him with purposeful steps, shoes clattering on the tiled floor. He pulled himself up to a sitting position and bared his fangs in an empty gesture of defiance. As the needle pierced the raw skin of his arm, he leaned back and howled, the eerie sound echoing against the colorless walls, then fading back into empty silence.

"Let me die..."

xxxxxxx

Jason jolted upright in his bed. The room was still and silent, the darkness complete. Not one ray of light penetrated his sanctum, not one sound broke into his rest. Nothing but the echo of a scream in his mind. He ran delicate fingers through strands of his blond hair, mind struggling to focus. Normally, he woke abruptly from the day's slumber, asleep one instant, fully awake the next. But this time, he felt drugged. Weak and trembling, his mind was fogged.

Jason stretched, then stumbled to his feet. Walking through the familiar darkness he found the bathroom and turned on the faucet, vigorously splashing cold water across his face, an old habit that hadn't faded over the long centuries since his death. It helped, though, and the coolness of the fluid drying on his skin brought with it the realization that the feeling of torpor wasn't his own. The sensation was already slipping away along with the voice that had cried into his mind. All it left were were feelings of familiarity and fear.

Someone he knew - and the knowledge came in a sudden flash of certainty that it was another of his kind - someone was in trouble. All he could grasp was the weakness and the pain, and... Light. Jason winced as the other's panic stirred his own. He had been burned before, so badly that the memory made his stomach twist and cramp.

"Who...?" he sent out the mental call, demanding, reaching, searching for the feel of that touch in his mind. But it was gone.

xxxxxx

Music pounded at his senses, the heavy beat sending reverberation through the very floor itself. Male and female voices wound through it, up and down the scale, twisting around each other in a musical caress. Below them, the murmur of conversation filled the air, along with the smell of sweating flesh and alcohol. Jason slipped quietly through the crowd, unerringly finding the one he was seeking.

"Charlotta," he spoke into her ear, pressing himself between the bar stools, so that he was looking down at her. Her long, black hair was coiled up onto the top of her head, a few strands artfully loose along her neck and cheeks. She was covered in black silk, the dress hiding just enough of her figure to be tantalizing and revealing at once.

She smiled, almost purring as she gracefully turned to meet his eyes. "Jassson," she hissed, her blue eyes almost violet with the blood fever. "Come to join me in the hunt?"

Damn, he cursed to himself silently. He needed answers, but she would not be sensible until she had fed. He had never understood why she let the need rise in her like this. She surrendered herself to it with abandon, glorying in the need almost as deeply as she did in the satisfaction. It was one of the reasons why they never would be more than friends and occasional companions. She had no more understanding for his desire to control his need than he did her delight in it.

"Chara," he sighed, then gave in gracefully. "Yes, but we have to talk later."

She grinned, the smile one of a predator, the fangs just barely visible behind her red lips. She was not far enough gone to fail to sense both the seriousness and the unspoken fear behind his carefully-controlled demeanor. But whatever it was could wait. Jason was always too intense, too focused, and she loved nothing more than a chance to push at his limits.

Stretching out a black silk-clad arm, she tapped his cheek. "Come, I had hesitated to take them both myself, but together it will be perfect." Wrapping a hand around his arm, she led him through the crowd.

"Chara," he started to protest, but then clamped his mouth shut. He always ended up whining her name, and he knew from experience it was a waste of time. But he did not share the taste some vampires had for their own sex, he might feed from a man when there was need, but he refused to play the games Chara would insist upon. Let her have both of her prey, whatever she might have said, she could handle two men, or five, easily on her own.

She laughed against his ear, clearly reading his expression. "Not this time, my dear." She pointed at a pair of girls giggling in a corner table. One was thin and blond, the other rounder and darker, both wearing the standard costume of college students, jeans and sweaters, feet encased in white socks and sneakers.

"They're too young," he murmured against the other vampire's neck.

"Nonsense," she replied. "They know what they are looking for." And as though in confirmation, both girls turned to bestow welcoming smiles on a pair of men who reeked of sex and violence even from a distance. Jason knew the type - human predators who would use and damage the girls without thought.

A growl deep in his throat, he pushed Chara towards the corner, settling between the young women and the men stalking them. The girls might loose a couple pints of blood tonight, but they would NOT be hurt. He would see to that.

xxxxxx

The girls were sleeping on the bed together, the blond one's head resting against her friend's naked chest. The puncture marks on their necks were already fading, by the time they awoke the next day, there would be nothing more than a couple small pinprick scars. Their memories would be cloudy, but pleasant, like waking up after an alcoholic binge. And they would attribute the tiredness to that same cause. Jason was satisfied, and from Chara's sleepy smile, he knew she was as well.

Pulling Chara across the room, he spoke softly, but clearly. The girls would not awaken, but there was no reason to avoid simple caution. "We need to talk. Something is wrong."

The blood-hunger sated, Chara stretched gracefully, enjoying one last rush of warmth through her veins, then nodded.

"I know. At least three of our people have gone missing." She frowned, her still-extended fang catching at her full lower lip.

"What?" Jason exclaimed. "Who?"

"You'd know if you socialized more," Chara chided, with a slight twinkle in her eyes. Vampires were by nature solitary, but Jason was even more of a loner than most of his kind. The others sought each other regularly, for the companionship it was not safe to find among the humans. Sometimes just to talk, sometimes to share the hunt.

"Who!" he insisted again, not willing to take the bait. He was not about to argue his life-style with her. He was fine alone. A small voice in the depths of his mind added a question mark, but he locked it away with the ease of long-practice.

"Gerain, Mark, and Louisa that I know of. There are rumors of more." She shook her head. "They are not dead, I can still feel Gerain sometimes." Her voice finally dropped into the first show of emotion. "He's hurt, Jason. Badly, but I cannot reach him, he is too faint."

Jason's mouth tightened. "I heard him tonight. Just as I was waking up. A scream, and a sense of incredible weakness. And light. Too much light." The memory made him shiver.

"I'm scared," Chara admitted. "Gerain was one of the oldest of us. He was much stronger. Some of the others have already fled the city, but this is my home." Her face darkened. "I won't run. Not again. But without knowing what we are fighting..." She spread her hands wide. "I don't know what to do."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Why should I?" She was angry now, her eyes sparkling. "You've always disdained our company."

"Not always," he reminded her. "Gerain was my friend. I may not like hunting and feeding parties, but I respected him, and I've always cared about you." His eyes caressed her face tenderly.

"I'm sorry, Jason. I should have contacted you. But what could you do? Louisa and Mark were looking for Gerain when they disappeared." Now she was letting the fear show openly, trusting him with it.

"What about the others, if we all work together..." Jason broke off, and returned Chara's rueful smile. Vampires might socialize to some extent, respect some basic rules of co-existence, but more than two or three together always degenerated into a feeding frenzy or a territorial dispute. Which was one of the reasons Jason preferred his own company.

"No one can decide what to do," Chara said. "Some have fled, others are trying to find what they can, others try to ignore the whole thing. Most went into hiding, especially after Mark and Louisa vanished. It's not as though we can go to the police."

"No," Jason agreed. Then a sudden thought struck him and his mouth widened into a smile. "Not the police..."

xxxxxx

FBI Special Agent Dana Scully rubbed wearily at her bloodshot eyes, trying to focus on the road in front of her. Just around the corner and down the block, and she'd be home. Beside her, Fox Mulder stirred in his sleep, twisting in the cramped front seat of the car, and she gave him a quick glance before pulling the car up to the curb.

They had just finished a long and demanding case, finally turning the suspect over to the local police that veryafternoon. Scully was beginning to understand why Mulder hated the serial killer cases he was so good at solving. She felt emotionally wrung out, drained, and filthy. The images of the victims kept flashing in front of her eyes, the splattered blood and broken bones. The gaping, empty cavities where organs had once supported life.

And it was easier on her, since she dealt with the physical evidence. Mulder had to get into the mind of the killer, to reach into his world and understand him. And that connection with this kind of evil, it took a terrible toll on Mulder. She'd watched him with anxious eyes as he struggled with the case, focusing with an intensity that was nearly obsessive, wringing a profile out of himself that was terrifying in its exactness. He'd been right, far too right. And Scully had seen the flashes of mixed fear and amazement on the faces of the police and other agents involved.

And now, they were left with the aftermath of too many nights without sleep, too many horrors witnessed, and the taste of evil in their mouths. But there was satisfaction, she thought grimly, turning off the engine, in the knowledge that one less killer would be stalking the streets tonight.

"Mulder..." She tried to wake him gently, but he woke with a start, jerking in his seat.

"Wwwhhaaat? Scully?" He focused his shadowed eyes on her face, mouth tightening at the deep-grooved lines etched into her face.

"We're at my place," she told him. "Come on, lets get inside."

"I...uhn..." he nodded, accepting the implicit invitation. Normally they tried not to spend too many nights together in Washington. If their superiors found out that their relationship was not totally platonic, they could be separated. Neither wanted to take that risk. But tonight, she was right. He was in no shape to drive the rest of the way home. He wasn't even sure he could walk to her door.

Easing himself out of the car, he stood up unsteadily. It was a still and quiet evening, the stars shining in a clear sky. Reaching into the back seat, he removed his bag, then shut the car door with a bang. Then hefting it over his shoulder, he followed Scully into her apartment.

They both dropped their bags onto the bedroom floor, too tired to care where they fell. Scully let Mulder take the bathroom, too exhausted to bother. Instead she stripped in the still-dark bedroom, dropping her suit on the floor beside their bags. Pulling a nightshirt out from under the pillows, she yanked it over her head even as she walked towards the kitchen.

Passing the bathroom door, she heard the toilet flush and water run in the sink. Somehow the sounds were comforting, it was reassuring to know her partner was here. All she wanted in the world right now was to curl up in bed in his arms. To sleep with her head pillowed against his shoulder, his strong arms wound around her.

Bare feet silent on the tile, she went to the refrigerator and drew out a half-full bottle of wine. Popping the cork, she took a couple of deep gulps straight from the bottle. The sweet alcohol was smooth going down her throat, and spread a wave of warmth through her belly. With a sigh, she took another swallow.

Mulder stepped up behind her, dressed only in his boxers. He had attempted to leave his suit in decent condition, draping it over the back of the bed frame, but it would probably need serious dry-cleaning after having been worn for two days and nights straight.

He didn't bother to say a word, announcing his presence by pressing a soft kiss into her hair. She leaned back against him, sighing under her breath, as his arms closed around her. He took the bottle out of her hand and set it on the counter. She let it go willingly, and turned to press her face into his chest.

Putting the exhaustion aside for a few minutes longer, he slipped a hand under her knees and swung her up into his arms. She snuggled close to him, wrapping her arms around his neck and burrowing a hand deep into the dark silk of his hair. He nuzzled the top of her head as he carried her into the bedroom, laying her gently onto the bed.

She reached up to help him pull the covers down, wriggling as he brought them down underneath her, then back up over her legs. Smiling sleepily up at the shadow of his figure, she reached out to pull him closer. He hardly needed the encouragement and he slipped into the bed to join her, releasing a soft sigh of relief as his head hit the pillow.

Scully rested her head against his chest, closed her eyes, and fell instantly to sleep. Mulder caressed her shoulders gently for a moment, then closed his own eyes. His last thought, as he joined her in slumber, was that neither of them was going to have trouble sleeping this night.

 **Part Two**

 

Standing in the shadows by the bedroom door, Jason's cat-like eyes rested on the sleeping couple. The woman's flame- haired head was nestled against the man's shoulder, his head settled on the pillows, dark hair in disarray above sleep-refined features.

Moving as silently as a ghost, Jason glided forward until he was standing right beside them, eyes half-shuttered as he gazed down at them. He reached out a hand to brush the silken bangs off of the slumbering man's temples, then arrested it in mid-air. The vampire's small, long-fingered hand hovered in the air for a moment, shaking with emotion, then stilled by a sudden act of will.

He drew his hand back, ignoring the sting in his eyes from tears that could no longer fall, and fought back the flood of emotion. He had kept his distance after his first meeting with these two humans, the reaction to the man who wore his lost love's face too strong to be ignored, too painful and confusing to be borne. So he had settled for watching from a safe distance, keeping his promise without endangering his heart. But now he had to break that wall, take the risk, for this time he needed their help.

"Mulder, Dana..." he whispered, his voice an echo of the night. Again, louder, "Mulder, Dana..."

Scully shifted in her sleep, turning her head, as though in response to his call, then settling down again.

"Mulder, Dana..."

This time Mulder reacted, tightening his grasp on the woman in his arms, even as his eyelids began to flutter and his breath quicken.

"Mulder, Dana..."

Mulder's eyes flew open and focused on the dark shadow leaning over the bed.

"Scully!!" he cried out in warning, leaping to a half-upright position.

"Whhaa...?" she murmured, fighting to remain asleep, even as he pushed her to the side, instinctively trying to place himself between her and the unknown.

"Wait," Jason started to speak again as Mulder reached for the lamp beside the bed and switched it on, sending a bright flare of light across the room.

Jason shuddered and drew an arm across his eyes, backing away from the sudden glare. Mulder blinked, his body tensed. Then a sigh of relief crossed his lips as he recognized their intruder.

"Jason?" The name was spoken with a mixture of disbelief, surprise and dawning joy.

"Yes," Jason replied, dropping the shielding arm as his light-sensitive eyes readjusted. "I apologize for disturbing your sleep, but I need to talk to you." The man and the vampire studied each other for a moment, then Mulder nodded.

"It's been a while."

"Yes, it has." Jason smiled. "I've been around."

Mulder smiled in return. "I know." It was Jason's turn for a look of surprise, but the expression faded into one of self- amused acceptance.

Awakened by the light and sound of voices, Scully rubbed her eyes, then looked up at the visitor. "Hello Jason," she said sleepily, a small part of her wondering why she was reacting so calmly to being wakened in the middle of the night, in her own bedroom, by a real-life vampire. Perhaps she was becoming inured to weirdness, more likely it was the instinctive trust she felt in Jason.

"Hello Lady," he replied softly, making the title ring true in his oddly-archaic English. His piercing eyes took her in, the cloud of copper-hair, the wide blue eyes, the full, slightly open mouth, the skin showing in the vee of her thin cotton nightshirt, then he pulled back visibly, turning his eyes onto Mulder's face.

Scully had felt those eyes on her, and a slight blush reddened her cheeks, even as she drew the covers up higher and settled back against the pillows beside Mulder. Mixed with the embarrassment was another feeling, one she wasn't sure she wanted to recognize.

Mulder sat up fully, leaving space for Jason to sit down on the bed facing them. He had caught both the way Jason looked at Scully and her response to that look, causing his own emotions to break into a turmoil. A confusion that was not aided by the way Jason was staring at him.

Jason accepted the implicit invitation and sat down on the edge of the bed. A flash of light caught his attention, and he automatically reached out to finger the shiny object resting in the hollow of Mulder's throat. A small gold locket on a thick gold chain, it brought back a flood of memories, the scent of lilacs in the dark, the taste of cherries on lips redder than the fruit, green- tinged hazel eyes that could read his soul...

Jason's hand began to shake, even as his fingers clasped onto the locket. Mulder's hand flew up to close upon Jason's, holding them both against his chest. Jason could feel Mulder's heartbeat below the warmth of his skin, Mulder could feel the cool porcelain of the vampire's skin next to his own.

Jason stilled to a death-like silence as their eyes met and held. He could have been looking into Maria's eyes, the resemblance was as total in that instant as it had ever been, and the feelings it evoked were intense. The moment lasted no more than a second, then it was gone, Mulder releasing Jason's hand, Jason pulling his hand away and pressing it against his own chest as though he had burned.

Mulder's pulse was racing in his veins, he felt like he could hear it pound in his temples. He took a ragged breath, carefully avoiding Scully's watching eyes, then framed the simple words precisely.

"What's happened?"

Jason's face settled into a calm mask, pale skin stretched tight over well-carved bones. "I need your help." He paused, not sure how to continue. Even asking was difficult, trying to explain was nearly impossible. Was this a mistake? Chara had thought so, even given the very little he had told her.

Scully and Mulder were both silent, letting Jason take his time. Both had some inkling of how difficult this was for the vampire, and both were willing to let him do it his own way.

"I am not the only of my kind in this city. You knew about the mad one, but there are others more like me. Who live quietly among the humans. We don't need to kill to feed ourselves, so most don't." He smiled. "There are plenty of humans willing to trade a few ounces of blood for momentary pleasure. Some even become addicted to it, seek it out as a new kind of drug."

Both Mulder and Scully felt a separate rush of understanding, each had had one experience with the vampire's bite, and the memory brought each a rush of tingling heat.

Jason saw the reaction, his smile deepening, then resolving as he forced himself to continue. "We are not much of a community, most vampires are by nature solitary. But sometimes we need the company of others like ourselves. Others who understand the toll of the passing years, passing centuries."

Scully saw the worry darkening Jason's pale features and she reached out instinctively to reassure him. He closed his hand on hers briefly, accepting the gesture, then released her.

"Last night I sensed that another vampire, a friend, was in trouble. I'm less sociable than most, and hadn't talked to any of the others in almost two months. But after the sending from Gerain..."

He shivered, his eyes filling with remembered pain. "I sought out another friend. She told me that Gerain, and two of the others have disappeared. A few of the remaining vampires have received similar sensations, calls for help that end as abruptly as they begin."

"What did you feel," Mulder asked, his insistent curiosity engaged.

Jason looked almost startled at the sound of his voice, then focused on it. "I heard the voice crying for help, very faint. I almost didn't recognize it. It came with an intense feeling of weakness, and then a burst of light." He shuddered openly. "Burning, burning light. Not...not enough to kill, just enough to hurt. Endless, endless torment." He pressed his hands to his eyes as though to shield them.

Mulder grasped Jason's shoulder's steadying him. "Easy, easy. You can separate yourself from it." His voice was hypnotic, silken and persuasive. "You can see it without feeling it. Imagine that you are watching it on a TV screen, with the controls under your command. It is separate from you, you can see it, but cannot be hurt by it. It is under your control." He repeated himself, slowly - evenly.

Jason slowly let his hands slip down, and he looked up into Mulder's face. He nodded slightly, his mouth opening and closing as though he had taken a breath, even though that was something he had not needed to do in centuries.

"Good," Mulder urged. "Now try to rewind the tape to the beginning. Then let it go forward slowly."

Jason tried to speak, but Mulder shook his head. "No, first just watch it through once."

Jason nodded, his eyes turning inward, still braced against Mulder's hands. They sat like that silently for a moment, then Jason pulled himself upright.

"Ready," he said slowly, drawing the syllables out.

"Good," Mulder responded. "Now try to tell us everything you remember as you see or experience it."

"I'm asleep, its almost time to awaken." Jason's voice came from deep inside, his eyes still unfocused. "A voice calls out to me faintly, and I wake. It calls again, crying for help. 'Stop the pain. No more, let me sleep!' I reach for it, but it fades. I feel weak, so tired. I can barely move. But I'm fully awake now, and I make myself get up. My feet are so unsteady, I can barely walk. I get to the bathroom, run the water, bury my hands in it, then splash it on my face. Better, I'm feeling stronger. The weakness wasn't my own - it came from the other. I know now, it is another vampire. One who is hurting, afraid. 'Where?' I call out, but there is no response. I grasp onto the edge of the sink. 'Who, where?' I call out aloud. Suddenly I hear the scream again, it crashed into my mind. Light, light, burning light. I can't escape from it. My skin is sore, my eyes blind, I can't stop them..."

Jason faltered there, shivering, but Mulder urged him on. "Stop who, Jason?"

"Stop them, the men in white. Stabbing, stabbing with needles..." Jason broke off and leapt to his feet.

Scully moved to follow him, but Mulder held her back. They both watched Jason as he began to pace the room, trying to bring himself back under control. After several circuits of the bed, he stopped and turned to them.

"He's in some kind of cell, but one that is all white. There is too much light, and men who stick him with needles. He's too tired to fight, too starved." Jason's eyes had turned bright red, and his fangs had extended enough to brush at his lower lip. "Hungry, so hungry..."

He pulled back again, reaching out to grip the edge of the bedpost. The desire for blood became intense, the other's hunger rising within him. He could sense their heartbeats, smell their flesh. NO!

"I've got to go..." He turned to flee the room.

"No!" Mulder shouted, even as he and Scully both got up out of the bed. They met him by the door. Jason tried to push past them, but Mulder seized his arms.

"You came to us for help, let us help!"

"You don't understand," Jason squeezed out the words over the now-fully extended fangs.

"We understand," Scully replied, grabbing his arm to make him look down at her. "If you need to feed, we'll take care of it, but right now you can't go out there alone. Its too dangerous. If what you sense is right," She almost couldn't believe the words coming out of her own mouth, but they FELT right.

"If what you sense is right, then there are people out there preying on vampires. What if they take you next?"

"Scully's right," Mulder agreed. "It's too dangerous. At least let us go with you."

Jason struggled with the rising tide of hunger stimulated by his memory of the Gerain's need. He shouldn't need more blood, he had fed within the last few hours. But once awakened, the blood-hunger had a life of its own, and it was abetted by his own desires. Scully's nearness was tantalizing, he could smell her, sense the blood rushing beneath her clear, soft skin. And Mulder... Those emotions were ones he still didn't want to face. Never, never had he felt such desire for a man, and even though he realized that much of what he felt was actually for the man's ancestor, the beautiful Maria, it was difficult to separate the memories from the living breathing reality. Mulder was SO like her, from the demanding intelligence to the compassionate soul, the physical beauty and inner strength, the piercing changeable eyes, and above all, the intense curiosity. The need to *know.* How alike they were, and with all the things that had made him love her, extant in this man, how could he fail to love him too.

Jason shook his head slightly, trying to focus through the red haze and the driving hunger.

Mulder sensed some of the uncertainty and pressed his advantage. "I..." One look at Scully's determined features, and he forced the plural out, "WE...can feed you. Or we can go with you while you feed. But you are NOT going out there alone."

xxxxxx

Mulder and Scully each took Jason's hand and together led him back towards the rumpled bed. He went with them shaking, a mix of need and fear short-circuiting his ability to react. They half-pushed him onto the bed, then both paused, eyeing each other with uncertainty. Jason was in no condition to make the decision, they had to make it for him - but neither knew what to do. Feeding a vampire was not a daily occurrence, not even for the FBI's experts on the paranormal. Should they find someone else, feed him themselves, and if so, which one would?

Mulder cleared his throat, then found himself grinning. "I wonder if there's an all-night pizza delivery place nearby?"

"Mulder, this isn't the time to order pizza, we need to help Jason." Scully scolded, watching with worried eyes as Jason lay on the bed, his red eyes staring at the ceiling, his body trembling.

"I was thinking less of ordering a pizza, than of ordering a pizza-deliverer," he responded, as his grin widened. "We'll take a pint of blood with that pizza."

"Mulder!!!" Scully threw him an annoyed glance, then sighed loudly. It actually wasn't such a hopeless idea. She didn't think Jason had enough control to go hunting in bars for a willing meal, so that left them with the responsibility. 'Don't fool yourself, Dana Scully. You *want* this.,' a very annoying inner voice chimed. 'Shut up!' she told it, even as she made the decision.

"I'll feed him," she said, wishing her voice was steadier than it was.

"Unh...No, Scully...I'll do it," Mulder's voice wasn't any calmer than hers, just deeper.

She met his eyes, about to start arguing, but the pained look on his face stopped her. As their eyes melded, they slid into one of their rare, extraordinary moments of total understanding. It suddenly occurred to her that however hard this was for her, it must be worse for Mulder. To feel such fascination, fear, and desire for Jason - Mulder had a hard time accepting his love for her, to have such deep emotions for the vampire - the very male vampire - must be a thousand times more difficult for him. And that didn't even touch the sense of betrayal of their own relationship. Mulder was deeply loyal, as was she, and they loved each other without bounds. Neither wanted to risk losing the other.

Scully reached out to touch Mulder's hand. "It will be easier on us if we share this. He'll need less from each of us."

Mulder swallowed and nodded, closing his hand upon hers. "I love you, Dana," he growled hoarsely.

"I love you too," she whispered back, rising up on her tip-toes to brush his mouth with a kiss. Then, still holding his hand, she clambered up onto the bed. Mulder followed her silently.

xxxxxx

Jason struggled valiantly with the hunger, his vision blurring, then focusing, feeling the waves of blood-thirst rise and fall within him. The sound of voices nearby barely impinged on his consciousness, his awareness too busy struggling with itself. He wouldn't take the one he still felt pledged to protect, however strong the desire, and he wouldn't take the woman. Not this way, not again. How very much he wanted to be with her while he was in control, when he could give her pleasure and romance, treat her like the Lady she was rather than a quick source of nourishment.

There was sudden movement, and his senses were flooded with the smell of human flesh and the tantalizing sense of the blood that flowed below it. He could feel the heat, almost taste the sweat on their skin. He put his hands up to ward them away, opened his mouth to warn them to leave, but the need washed over him again, and he was lost to it.

With an inhuman cry, Jason reached for the nearest source of blood, pulling it down over him, then pushing it to the side. Controlled by pure instinct he reached for the head, cradling it in his small, but powerful hands, lunging for the hollow of the neck. The hunger pounding through his temples, he only barely noticed the cry of surprise near his ear, the soft feel of hair under his hands, the strong length of the body beneath him as he unerringly found the jugular vein and plunged his fully-extended fangs through the velvety layer of skin. Blood - it rushed into his mouth, hot and salty and thick, and he drew it in, letting it flood down his throat.

xxxxxx

Mulder had not quite known what to expect, but the sudden assault came as a surprise. He barely had time to gasp for breath before he found himself laying across the bed, Jason's weight pressing down on him. Hands closed around his head, pinioning it and turning it aside in the same motion, and then there was a sharp, stinging pain in his throat. And then pleasure...wave upon waves of ecstasy flowing outward from the pressure on his neck.

Uttering a ragged moan, he arched up against the source of that heat, seeking more of it. The hands holding his head relaxed, one moving to his shoulder to brace him, the other beginning to caress the opposite side of his face. Mulder drew in a ragged breath, and settled into the vampire's embrace.

xxxxxx

Scully watched anxiously for a while, wishing she had some notion of how quickly Jason was drawing blood, and how much. She reached out to intervene, then drew her hand back. She gritted her jaw and forced herself to wait. Just a little longer, just a little longer. Maybe Jason would know when to stop, maybe he only needed so much. But how was she supposed to know?

Scully watched as Mulder shifted and groaned beneath Jason, his eyes shuttered, his mouth half-open. Against Jason's pallor, his skin looked darker than it was, but it was still too white. Too many months working inside a basement office, working at night, living almost like... like a vampire.

"Enough," Scully never realized she spoke the word aloud as she threw herself forward to seize Jason and yank him backwards. Not expecting it, he went with her, his fangs slipping out of Mulder's throat. Then he growled and fought, turning to face her.

Scully felt her stomach flip as his face came within an inch of hers, eyes glowing bright red, fangs distended and dripping, an angry scowl contorting his handsome features. Reaching for the depths of her determination, she took hold of his shoulders and pulled him down on top of her, falling backwards onto the bed. As she fell, she angled her head to the side in open invitation, stifling a scream as he responded in nearly mindless hunger, biting deeply into her.

An instant of pain - then pleasure. Hot, insistent, demanding.

xxxxxx

"No!" Mulder cried out in dismay. It was gone, the source of the delight that had filled his senses, and he curled up into a ball of misery. His hand flew to the sensitive spot on his throat and held it, wishing for more, wanting resumption of that incredible ecstasy. Ignoring the wetness that came away on his hand, he forced himself upright, his mind still caught on the need...

His eyes found Scully and Jason beside him, and the sight brought some flicker of awareness back. One part of him wanted to tear the vampire away from her, while another part wanted to take her away from the vampire. He wanted them both, and his slowly awakening consciousness staggered under the weight of that emotional recognition. Managing to climb to his knees, Mulder rocked himself, his arms wrapped tightly across his chest.

Beneath Jason, Scully twisted and moaned, the sound finally stirring Mulder to act. Not bothering to care which he was trying to claim, perhaps both, he grabbed Jason and yanked him backwards. Scully cried out at the cessation of the euphoric sensations, reaching up blindly to drag Jason back to her. Mulder held on tightly to him also, placing Jason in the middle of a tug- of-war.

The vampire hissed angrily, throwing off both sets of hands easily, and moving away. Turning to face them, he started to attack, then hesitated. Mulder's face was haunted, but mostly aware, while Scully still had the look of a sleep-walker, her eyes heavy-lidded, her breath coming in short gasps. Both sat still, watching him anxiously, waiting for him to make the next move.

Blood trickled across both their chests, and the sight and smell of it made Jason's fangs ache and saliva pool in his mouth. But he was sated enough to be able to control the hunger, and he shut it down firmly. This had to stop before he took too much. Holding to his resolve, he leaned towards Mulder.

"Hold still," he commanded, as his mouth found the still- bleeding holes on Mulder's neck. Mulder leaned into Jason, his head falling slightly to the side to allow better access. Jason felt the desire to draw more blood, but forced himself to seal the wounds off, settling for licking the already spilled blood from Mulder's skin. Then Jason pushed Mulder back against the pillows, making sure that his head came down gently. He pressed into his chest, telling him without words to stay put.

Scully had watched this through slowly widening blue eyes, and she willingly accepted Jason's attention, pulling her own hair out of the way as the vampire sought the leaking puncture marks on her throat. Every so gently, he closed them, tasted the trickle of blood on her skin, then lowered her down against her partner.

Mulder's arms encircled her, and she nestled into the heat of his body with a sigh of contentment. Jason watched them for a moment, the red of his eyes beginning to fade. A slow smile inched its way across his lips as he watched them doze, the fangs retracting. His movements were sure and deathly quiet as he got off the bed and settled the blankets back around them. His instinctive sense for the approaching dawn told him he still had a few hours of the safety of the night. He decided that he owed them at least an hour of that time. Turning off the bedside lamp, he curled up along the end of the bed sideways and settled down to wait.

 

**Part Three**

Mulder stirred in his sleep. Just a flutter of ghosts across the edge of his awareness, but they pushed him towards consciousness. Shadows, memories, glimpsed and then gone, the images were fragmented and faint. He twisted, and felt something warm against him. Drawing it closer, he breathed in a warm and familiar scent, coconut shampoo and human sweat, combined with that indefinable, but unique flavor that was Dana. He tightened his arms and curled up around her, a soft sigh escaping his lips as he tried to regain his sleep, but the sound and movement had echoes.

There was a shift in weight, following by the abruptly insistent sensation of being watched. Mulder mentally brushed it away, but it returned. He closed his eyes and simulated sleep for a moment, then gave up and lay back. His slowly opening eyes soon focused on the figure sitting over him.

His sleep-clouded mind was slower than his eyesight, and one part of his awareness took the time to ask another why he wasn't worried by waking up to find a stranger staring at him. The answer came back sluggishly, but it was definite - because this wasn't a stranger.

"Jason," he murmured, adjusting his position to ease the arm taking all of Scully's weight. He pulled out from under her, and sat up, rubbing the cramps out of the elbow. The memories of what had happened earlier flooded him, and he found himself grateful for the darkness. Mulder didn't blush easily, but he could feel his cheeks burning.

Jason watched him silently, easily recognizing that Mulder was feeling some embarrassment. But Jason couldn't find the words to reassure him, so he settled for saying nothing. He waited until he sensed that Mulder was fully awake, then said simply. "I wish I could let you sleep. But dawn is approaching soon," he eyed the large, thin-curtained windows with annoyance. As full as this night had been, it now seemed far too short.

"Dawn?" Mulder understood quickly, and he sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, then stretching his hands over his head. No time to deal with emotions now, something Mulder had to admit he was grateful for. Leaning over, he shook Scully gently. "Scully..."

"Mulder..." she said, trying to push him away. But he insisted, and soon she was sitting up beside him, yawning.

"We need to get Jason somewhere safe for the day," Mulder told her.

"I will go home," Jason said. "No one knows where it is, except..." He frowned. "Except Chara and Gerain."

Mulder seized on the familiar name. "He's the one who is missing, the one who is being held captive?"

"Yes," Jason struggled with a mixture of emotions. "But he wouldn't tell them." His mouth thinned. "At least not willingly."

Mulder shook his head. "Better not take the chance." He played out the floor plan of Scully's apartment in his head, but didn't like the result. Far too many windows, unless they stuck Jason in a closet it would be hard to protect him from the sun. "My apartment is probably best. Just the one window, and we can block it easily."

Scully agreed. "I think that's best."

Jason looked doubtful, but he couldn't think of another solution. Still... "We don't know for sure that I'm in any danger. Mark and Louisa were taken after they began actively looking for Gerain. It could be that they only wanted him, and they just got in the way."

"Still, we shouldn't take the chance," Mulder insisted. "While you sleep, Scully and I can do some digging. We'll need to know where your friend lived and his full name - and those of Mark and Louisa too, if possible. We can at least file missing persons reports on them."

Jason nodded. "That's what I wanted to ask you to do. I think they must have been taken during the day. It is difficult to overpower a vampire at night. It can be done, but not easily. During the day, they would have been much more vulnerable. I'm sure that they were taken by humans, if you can trace them by day, we'll have an advantage at night."

Scully interrupted here. "We'll need more information about Gerain and the others. And we may need to talk to anyone who was close to them around the time they disappeared."

"I'll do that!" Jason's voice rose nearly to a shout. At the sound of it, he visibly pulled back. When he spoke again, his voice was almost in a whisper. "It's not safe for you. I'll handle the nights, you handle the days." They could sense the plea in his voice, if not see it in his face.

Mulder considered their options, weighing caution and fear against curiosity and duty. "Jason," he said carefully. "If we are going to do this, we need access to everything. Scully and I are trained investigators, experienced at picking up nuances in a witness' statement that you might miss. We may not be of much help, if you restrict our access to necessary information."

Mulder grasped Jason's shoulder before Jason could begin to argue. "I know - I *know* - that it could be dangerous for us. I'm sure the others won't like the idea of us knowing who and what they are. But our job *is* risky - it comes with the territory. I doubt your vampires are any bit more dangerous than the 'human' serial killer we just caught." Mulder's voice was rich with irony. "In fact I'd bet they are a lot more 'human' than he ever was."

"Mulder's right, Jason," Scully concurred. "You need our help, so let us help. We did well once working together. I think we will again."

"You don't understand," Jason tried again, looking from one determined face to another. "I may not be able to protect you. Chara...maybe. If I claim BloodRight to you both, she'll probably respect that. So will some of the others. But there are always the few who don't respect anything except their own hunger, their own will. And I can't watch over you every minute of every night."

He left unsaid his wish that he could, his desire to try regardless, and the fact that he'd given it a very good attempt quite recently. And he didn't doubt that Mulder easily read it all. Scully, maybe not, but Mulder was too perceptive. Just like Maria.

Scully started to argue back, but Mulder interrupted her. "Look, we're wasting time. I suggest we go by Jason's to pick up overnight," he grinned and corrected himself, "overDAY stuff and then get to my place as quickly as possible. Let us see what we can find out during the day, then we can plan from there tomorrow night."

Jason and Scully had to accept the wisdom of that suggestion, though both were tight-lipped and grim as they got out of the bed. Mulder and Scully dressed quickly, both of their minds racing. Jason waited in characteristic silence by the doorway until they were ready, then he led them out of the apartment and into the early morning dark.

As she locked her door, Scully threw one last yearning glance towards her bedroom window. So much for a good night's sleep.

xxxxxx

In the soft light from the lamp, Jason's skin was like clear, white wax, shiny in its pallor. He lay breathless and silent, unmoving. Mulder sat on the edge of the couch beside the sleeping vampire and studied him closely. Thick blond hair fell in soft waves around a youthful face, marked by high cheekbones and pointed jaw. The mouth was red and full, the eyelashes thick and seemingly dark against the fair, unlined skin. He was beautiful in a cold, but haunting way - eternal youth, eternal death. The spark that gave Jason life was hidden in the shuttered eyes.

Mulder hesitantly reached out and stroked Jason's cheek, feeling the coolness of the skin beneath his fingertips. There had been heat the night before, but that was gone. No sooner had the dawn arrived, than Jason had fallen into this lifeless coma. Only the knowledge of what he was gave hope, to all intents and appearances he was dead. It seemed amazing that he could awaken from this state - but Mulder held onto that belief with all his strength.

Scully was still at the office, trying to trace the missing vampires. They had lived on the edge of society, leaving only minimal records of their presence. Like shadows, they were visible mostly by their reflections, the human lives they had touched, however briefly. And those were minimal. The day had been filled mostly with frustration, more questions than answers. It was the night that held the resolution, Mulder knew. But the night could be deadly.

Scully and Mulder had not talked much about what had happened. About feeding Jason. They had let it be by mutual, unspoken consent. Too many raw emotions that neither wanted to face. There was a job to do, they would do it and face the consequences later. Mulder sighed to himself as he sat in the dim lamplight; someday they were going to run out of 'laters.' What then?

Lost in thought, Mulder hadn't realized he was still caressing Jason's face with his hand until that hand was seized in a powerful grip. "Uhhn," Mulder's eyes flew downwards to find Jason's gray eyes open and intent upon him.

"You're awake," Mulder said lamely, again grateful that the dimness of the light hid the blush rising below his skin.

"Yes," Jason replied simply, still holding Mulder's fingers trapped between his own hand and his cheek. Jason took his turn to study Mulder, noting the shadows under the gleaming hazel eyes and along the jaw. Mulder's straight dark hair was tousled, bangs falling in several directions across his temples, a few strands nearly standing on end. Releasing Mulder's hand, Jason reached up to finger one of those strands then push it into place ever so gently.

Mulder nearly shook with the contact, then drew away. Covering the reaction with a cough, he stood up. "Scully is at the office. We should join her as soon as you are ready."

Jason nodded, sliding to his feet with agility. Several inches shorter than the six-foot-tall agent, the vampire was forced to look upwards to meet Mulder's eyes. "I'll be ready soon."

xxxxxx

Jason had indeed been quick in washing and changing clothes, and they were soon on their way to FBI headquarters. Along the way, Mulder filled Jason in on the events of the day. Searches of the missing vampires' homes had revealed little, and their human neighbors had little to offer. The general consensus was that Gerain was a true gentleman, if a little weird. Louisa's neighbors simply settled for 'strange.' Mark's didn't even know his name.

Basically they had disappeared without a trace, and there was almost no one to care. Mulder had seen something of himself in their life-style. If it wasn't for Scully - he'd have been the same. So it angered him that they could simply be taken without question. But not without retribution; Mulder was not going to let it go. Neither was Scully, nor Jason.

The vampire was grim throughout the drive to the Hoover Building, and he eyed the sprawling monstrosity with distaste as Mulder pulled the car into the underground garage. They exited the car in silence, falling into step together with graceful ease, Mulder's longer stride letting him pull slightly ahead. Jason was willing to let him lead, following the taller, darker human with alert eyes and a watchful air.

Even at night, the FBI building's main floor was brightly lit and active. The two men, vampire and human, waded through the commotion, people instinctively pulling out of their way. Mulder pushed through to the desk, brusquely requesting a guest pass for Jason, who donned it without a word. One pair of agents moved to intercept Mulder, sneering smiles on their faces.

"What's new Spooky?" one challenged. "Seen any more little green men lately?"

Mulder eyed the pair with ill-concealed annoyance. They were not Washington regulars. He'd run across them on an X- Files case a couple years ago, and he'd quite hoped to never see them again.

Not perceptive enough to read the cold irritation on Mulder's face, they both chuckled at him. Jason didn't quite understand what was happening, but he could feel Mulder's emotions flare, anger and frustration barely masking the knife- edge of pain, and he reacted with instinctive protectiveness. He stepped up to Mulder's side and glared at the two interlopers. Neither would ever be able to say exactly what happened, even if they had been willing to try to explain. Both suddenly felt their insides crawl with fear, causing them to abruptly turn on their heels and flee the room.

Mulder watched them leave with some astonishment. Then he turned to look down at Jason with a mix of amusement and suspicion. "What did you do?" he whispered.

Jason merely smiled, barely revealing the tips of his fangs.

xxxxxx

Scully lifted weary eyes from the computer screen at the sound of the door opening. Taking off her glasses, she stood up to meet Mulder and Jason in the middle of the room.

"Hey Scully," Mulder said, shrugging off his suitcoat and dropping it over his chair. Easing himself into it, he asked, "Found anything new?"

"No," Scully said, even as she exchanged a smile of welcome with Jason. He bowed his head to her, his eyes managing to caress her from a distance. She felt an electric shock race across her nerves, but managed to still her reaction. Turning her attention back to Mulder, she spoke calmly. "Nothing definite."

She then explained for Jason's benefit. "I have been trying to get a line on who might have taken Gerain and the others. From your description it has to be someone with access to what sounds like a hospital or clinic." She perched herself on the edge of the desk between the two men, Mulder sprawled in his chair, Jason leaning against a file cabinet, both sets of eyes intent on her face.

"Again, we're only guessing from what you sensed the other night, and from your exposure to the sun a few months ago. Exposure to direct sunlight is deadly for you, stimulates some kind of chemical reaction that burns into your skin like acid. Also, during the day, even when you are protected from the sun itself, you fall into a death-like coma. Its possible they may have found a way to control that reaction, using light."

She shook her head, none of this quite made sense. Every time she went over the vampiric condition in her head, she got more confused. There had to be a physical cause, she just couldn't put her finger on it. She would love to get a blood sample from Jason, but knew without asking that he'd balk at that kind of intrusion. He was too proud to accept being a subject of experimentation, and she didn't want to hurt him in any way. Still, if only...

Noting that she seemed to have gotten lost in thought, Mulder took over. "Jason, do you think its possible that being subjected to certain wavelengths of light, within the spectrum of sunlight might have that kind of effect on you?" Without letting Jason answer, Mulder plunged ahead, his excitement growing as he let his imagination roam free. "It could be that some wavelengths of light cause the burning, and others are responsible for the hibernation. If someone figured out how to tune fluorescent lamps in such a way to weaken a vampire without killing him..."

"It's possible," Jason interjected. "But, how would they find out? They'd need to do some experimenting." He paused as the same thought struck them all. Jason forced himself to say it. "They have been experimenting."

"I'd guess so," Scully agreed, looking at Jason with concern. "Maybe they stumbled on the first vampire by accident? I don't know." She rubbed her eyes wearily. "But when they realized what they had, they decided to find some more test subjects. After all, if they can figure out what causes vampirism, they could have their hands on a potential fountain of youth. Eternal life."

"Eternal death," Jason countered with some bitterness.

Both agents stared at him with wide eyes. He smiled wryly.

"I made my peace with this a long, long time ago," he explained. "It wasn't my choice, but I've learned to live with it. And it has its good side. I've lived to see things I never would have dreamed possible when I was alive." He paced across the room. "Still, there is a price to be paid. Never to see the dawn, to feel the warmth of the sun on your face." His voice fell almost to a whisper. "And the hunger - the endless, driving hunger."

"Jason?" Scully made the name into a question, and he read it instantly. "No, no, Lady. I'm fine." Both Scully and Mulder felt a mixture of relief and disappointment, both thrust the reaction aside fiercely.

"Anyway," Scully got back to her feet and walked around the desk behind Mulder to look at the computer screen. "I made a list of all companies and government facilities in the Washington D.C. area that could support this kind of experimentation. They would need self-contained rooms to keep the vampires in, and a biological research laboratory - all assuming they are trying to figure out what vampirism is. But this could be a false trail."

"I think it's a safe bet, Scully." Mulder insisted. "You did say, Jason, that Gerain was subjected to injections."

"Yes," Jason replied. "And they took blood from him with needles." He frowned, joining them at the computer. "I know that passing the blood is necessary to convert someone. Traditionally, the vampire takes blood, then passes it back to the human. Then the human must go through a mortal death, after which he becomes a vampire himself. It doesn't take in all cases, some are rejected and simply die."

"That would fit with the cause being some kind of blood-borne biological agent," Scully mused. "Perhaps a virus of some kind, that causes alterations on the host's body chemistry. By ensuring the continued existence of its host - eternal life - it keeps itself alive."

"Quite an adaptation," Mulder said.

"Yes," Scully answered, warming to her subject. "I'd guess a retrovirus, and one that feeds on red blood cells somehow." She nibbled at her lower lip, eyes focused in concentration. "But I don't see how a retrovirus could live in RBC's. Mature red blood cells don't have DNA or even nuclei in humans. Perhaps the virus-infected cells, white blood cells perhaps, like macrophages, take up and digest the red blood cells. A need for hemoglobin perhaps, or for the oxygen or iron that hemoglobin carries."

"That's all fine and well, Scully," Mulder interrupted, "But it doesn't bring us any closer to knowing who our vampire- nappers are."

Jason had been staring at the list of names on the monitor intently, his mouth tightening with increasing frustration.

"It could be any of them, or none." He gestured widely, surprising Mulder and Scully with the outburst. "This isn't getting us anywhere!"

"I know," Mulder said soothingly. "But it gives us a place to start. What we need now is more information. A way of narrowing down the possibilities. I think we need to talk to the missing vampire's friends. Anyone they might have told something to. Someone who might have seen or heard something that could give us a clue to the kidnapper's identity."

"I'll do that," Jason insisted, heading for the door.

Scully grabbed his arm as he attempted to pass by her.

"It's not safe for you alone. We're coming with you."

"No!" Jason glared at her. "It's less safe for you. I can take care of myself at night."

"No one's invulnerable," Mulder argued, getting to his feet, unashamed of using his height in an argument. "If they know enough to capture and hold at least three vampires, maybe more, they may know enough to be able to overpower you even at night. You'll stand a better chance if we're with you."

Jason shook his head. "Maybe so, but I'm more concerned about you. If they can overpower me, then you two don't stand a chance. Besides, there are the other vampires to think about also. Even if we could handle the kidnappers, and I hope we can, I can't guarantee your safety with the others. Some will accept my protection of you, but others may not. And some do still kill for blood, especially when they feel threatened. Your knowledge of them might be just enough excuse."

"We'll just have to take that chance," Mulder insisted. He refused to let Jason go off alone, and he couldn't hide the intensity of his curiosity. There was a whole subculture out there he knew nothing about. A society of vampires here in Washington. It was fascinating!

Scully knew her partner well enough to recognize the sparkle in his eyes. When he got a hold of something like this, he could be worse than a dog with a new bone. He would sink his teeth in and never let go. And she had to admit she felt some of the same excitement, even though she took Jason's warning very seriously. Having had time to think about it, she was a little frightened of the other vampires. Jason she trusted absolutely, but she had seen him come close to losing control. If he could do so, despite the depth of his caring for both her and Mulder, then what might the others be capable of? That fear warred with her worry over Jason's safety. There was no easy answer, but she hadn't become a federal agent by being meek. Her friend was in danger, it was time to act.

Shoving the fear down, she reached out to touch Jason's arm. "I know it will be dangerous. We both do. But we can't stand by and watch you get hurt or worse without helping. We care about you, and I know that if the situation was reversed, you wouldn't let either of us go alone. Our best chance of surviving this, and helping your friends, is to work together."

Jason wanted desperately to insist that they let him do this alone, but Scully's words had struck home. He still didn't like it, but she had a point. He stared at her, his face drawn tight with emotion.

"Jason," she ran her fingers across his cheek. "We don't want to lose you. As long as we stay together, we'll be as safe as anyone can be. There are no guarantees in life. And we've both risked our lives for strangers as part of our job. How can we not do so for you?"

Jason finally nodded, not able to speak. Scully smiled at his wordless acceptance, then turned to meet Mulder's diamond eyes. He met her gaze squarely, sending waves of understanding and support through the invisible contact between them. Still holding onto Jason, Scully reached out her other hand to Mulder. He grasped it tightly, stepping closer. Scully held onto them both for a long, charged moment, then let go of them simultaneously.

"Let's go," she said, walking over to put on her coat. Jason helped her into it while Mulder donned his. They filed out of the office, Mulder locking the door behind them.

xxxxxx

Jason led the way into the crowded nightclub, Mulder and Scully close behind. Chara was sitting in her favorite corner of the bar, this time sleek and satisfied, her olive skin glowing with the heat of the recently-taken blood. Her smile was tantalizing as she saw Jason, slowly arching herself upwards on the seat to greet him.

"Hello Chara," he said, disentangling himself from her embrace. "Is there a place we can talk in private?"

"Sure love," she said, her features narrowing. "I have a booth in the back. You found something?"

"I'm not sure," he admitted, taking her arm. "Come on." He turned to angle his head at Mulder and Scully, not needing to see Chara's face to know she was following his eyes. He suddenly *SAW* them through her eyes, and found nothing lost in the vision. Or in the heat of her sudden desire. Mulder was tall and graceful in the rumpled remnants of his dark suit, Scully small and proud in her blue dress. Her hair glowed like flame, his eyes were sparkling and alert. And Jason could remember the way they both smelled and the way they both felt, causing the hunger to rise again within him.

His eyes contained a fierce warning as he looked back down at Chara, but she responded with a bubbly laugh. "Interesting..." she whispered, her eyes glittering, her red lips drawn back from glistening white teeth.

He gave her another stern look, and steered her through the crowd.

 

 **Part Four**

In a few minutes all four were seated in a sheltered booth, a dark curtain shielding them from the chaos of the club. Even the pounding of the music seemed distant, while the only light came from a pair of lanterns on the wall above their heads.

Jason steeled himself for the conversation ahead, stalling the inevitable with introductions. "Charlotta, this is Dana and Mulder." He deliberately left out Mulder's first name, the man's distaste for it was apparent. Personally, Jason liked it very much, it was simple and strong.

Mulder nodded, Scully smiled. Charlotta drew her eyes over each of them slowly, inch by inch, not bothering to hide her appraisal. "Very nice, Jason, VERY nice. I do hope this means you are going to share." The tip of one fang brushed her lower lip as she licked her lips suggestively.

Jason sighed, appreciative of both Mulder's ability to contain all emotions behind that calmly handsome facade, and Scully's inborn poise. Only someone who knew Mulder well would see the mix of amusement and interest in those green- tinged eyes, or the amusement in the tilt of Dana's fiery head.

"No, Charlotta. This is serious," he said, glaring at her. She grinned unabashedly and replied. "I am always serious about feeding."

"NO!" Jason stated, his voice clipped and cold. "I claim BloodRight, Charlotta. Formally and fully. They are mine." Even Jason was astonished by the amount of possessiveness in his voice, but he let Chara have the full force of his determination. Baring his fangs he repeated. "They are mine by BloodRight, I will not tolerate any interference with them."

Chara studied him for a moment, then looked over at Mulder and Scully who were still watching silently. She mimed a look of intense disappointment, then leaned over to brush Jason's cheek with a kiss. "As you wish, Jase." She smiled with growing amusement. "I must admit your taste has improved immeasurably. Didn't think you *liked* men."

"I don't!" Jason blurted out. Then he felt a rush of embarrassment and uncertainty. He had never liked men, never. But Mulder was different... All three shot him looks of surprise, and he suddenly realized he had spoken the thought aloud.

"Ahh..." He quickly decided to handle the situation by ignoring it, and changed the subject. "We're here to talk about Gerain, Charlotta. Mulder and Scully are helping me investigate. We need to know about his last days, and anything Mark or Louisa might have told you before they disappeared."

Chara threw him a quick glance, as she took that information in. If he trusted them that fully, then there was more going on between these two mortals and the other vampire than she had even realized. For the first time she took his assertion of BloodRight seriously. Just who were these two?

Scully spoke for the first time, her voice soft and throaty. "We interviewed their neighbors, but no one had seen or heard anything unusual. Their homes look untouched, and there are no unidentified bodies in Washington morgues that match their descriptions. We also came up empty-handed at the hospitals and clinics." She smiled. "I somehow doubt that one of you would pass unnoticed in a hospital."

"Who are you?" Charlotta interrupted, her blue eyes bright with suspicion.

This time it was Mulder who responded, leaning towards her. "Special Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, Federal Bureau of Investigation, at your service, Ma'am," he drawled.

"Federal... Dammit Jason, what have you done!" Charlotta hissed, drawing back in her seat.

"It's OK, Chara," Jason tried to soothe, but she was not willing to be soothed. Baring her fangs at them, she glared at them. "I should kill them now. How could you involve the FBI? How could you tell them about us? Do you know what the government might do to us?"

"It seems to me that the government may already doing things to you - or at least to your missing friends." Dana pointed out with apparent calm, though all of her companions could easily read the tension in her body. "You need our help to find and free them. We can operate during the day, and we have resources you don't."

Charlotta simply hissed again, her fangs now fully protruding. Jason felt her preparing to attack, and his fear forced his hand. In a blink of an eye, his hand shot across the table to Mulder's chest. Closing his hand around the gold locket that rested against Mulder's skin just below the opening of his partially unbuttoned white shirt, his tie having been abandoned in the car.

"This is why, Chara." he pulled it forward, forcing Mulder to lean forward onto the table, the chain tugging at the back of his neck.

She almost ignored it, until the glint of light off the gold caught her eyes and she focused on the familiar object. Her eyes widened in shock. "Maria's locket. You gave *him* Maria's locket. I don't..." For the first time she really truly looked at Mulder, and her lips parted in what would have been a gasp of astonishment if she had been bothering to pretend to breathe. "My God, is he...?"

"I think so," Jason replied. Then he asserted with more confidence, "I know so."

"Well, well... no wonder you wanted him." Chara's anger lessened slightly. "How did you find him?"

"By accident," Jason smiled at the memory. "They were investigating a series of deaths, caused by a maddened old-one who had invaded my territory. He attacked me, and they saved me from death by sunlight. Somehow, Mulder figured out what I was."

"Well, she always was perceptive." Chara responded, eyeing Mulder with more respect.

"She?" Mulder closed his hand over Jason's around the locket. His curiosity was spilling over, he felt like a thousand questions were about to burst through him. "Who is the woman in the locket? Is she this Maria? What does she have to do with me?"

Chara broke out laughing. "He's got her curiosity too."

Jason gave her a rueful look, and released the locket. Leaning back in his seat, the blond vampire closed his eyes and tried to find the right words.

Scully saw the encroaching pain on his face, and she put her hand on Mulder's hand, trying to restrain him. But her partner needed answers, and wasn't about to let it go.

"Jason," Mulder insisted.

"She, Maria, was a woman who lived a long, long time ago. Nearly one hundred fifty years ago. I knew her, Charlotta did as well."

Charlotta nodded. "Lady Maria Victoria Elizabeth Covington-Keans. She was married to the heir of an elderly Duke. We met her at one of London's interminable society balls."

"She was unique," Jason took over, his face taking on a serene quality at the memory. "As graceful as an angel, more beautiful than Helen of Troy, and a mind that could rival the scholars of the age. She could be demure as befitted her station, but underneath was so much life. I've never met anyone more alive."

"What happened?" Scully couldn't help being fascinated. She and Mulder had both studied the face in the locket, and had imagined what the woman might have been like. She wanted to know more.

"I spent some time with her in the gardens that night. We talked and talked, about everything. I didn't see her for a while, then we met again at another ball. It was like fate. We felt - destined for each other. In time we became lovers. Her husband had no interest in her except as a broodmare to produce an heir." Jason's face tightened. "She hadn't known that being with a man could provide pleasure rather than pain. I taught her how to love. Sex is possible for us, more so when we are young, though it is usually abandoned in favor of the blood. And in time the physical ability wanes as well. At least we cannot father children, which meant our liaison was safe, though I doubt her husband would have cared too much where the heir came from as long as she produced a healthy boy."

His audience was silent, Chara lost in her own memories, Mulder and Scully intent on Jason's every word. "One night," his voice almost broke. "One night I found her in bed, unwell. She told me that her husband had forced her to have sex repeatedly. She was bleeding, hurt. I got Chara immediately, to provide what medical care she could. And in time it became evident she was pregnant." The sorrow in Jason's voice pounded at all of their senses. "It was never a healthy pregnancy, Maria faded inch by inch. As her belly swelled, she grew weaker. She was sick constantly, and took to her bed. Chara and I spent night after night tending her, only to watch her slip away. And then she went into labor." He shuddered.

"We could only watch from the shadows of the garden, and listen. Listen to her scream. It went on and on and on, I felt like I was dying with her. Then finally, just as dawn was about to force us to take cover, her cries were replaced with that of the child. It was louder than she had been, lusty and vibrant, full of the life it had stolen from Maria.

"I went to her the next night, alone. She was dying and we both knew it. I begged her to let me help her, to convert her. I promised her we'd be together forever, but she refused. Instead, she kept asking me to care for her child. She wanted me to promise to protect him, but I couldn't stand the sight of the child that had killed her. But she wouldn't give up, and she was dying. I loved her so much, how could I refuse her anything? So I promised, and she died. Just smiled and closed her eyes and was gone." Tears pooled in the corners of Scully's eyes and Mulder's face was carved in stone.

"I..." Jason shook his head, his eyes bright with unshed tears. "I have never hated anyone as much as I hated that child in that instant. It must have sensed its mother's death, maybe, for it started crying. I went over and looked at it, even reached out to touch it. I wanted to wring its neck, to crush its skull." his hands clenched into tight fists on the table. "But I kept hearing HER voice pleading with me to protect her baby, I couldn't kill it. But I couldn't stay with it either. So I fled. I ran and ran and ran. Spent years traveling throughout the world. I finally ended up in America."

Silence descended upon the four sitting in the booth, the sounds of the chaotic nightclub seeming to recede into the distance. After a long uncomfortable moment, Mulder broke the calm. "But why me? Why give me her locket?"

"When I first saw you," Jason answered wryly, "It was like looking into the past. You are the image of her; you could be her twin."

"Not her twin, but her descendant," Scully said thoughtfully. She turned her shimmering blue eyes on Jason, "Maria's child. That's what you called Mulder when you first woke up in his apartment. You called him 'Maria's child.'"

Jason nodded.

"How can you be sure?" Mulder asked staring down at the face inside the locket critically. "Sure we both have dark hair and hazel eyes, but so do a lot of people. We're not that much alike."

"Yes, you are." Charlotta responded. "I didn't know her as well as Jason did, but I spent enough time with her to see the resemblance. It's uncanny. You are a male version of Maria, and not just in coloring. You have her features, the same bone structure, the same mouth, the same build. She was tall and thin like you. And you even move like her. But it is the blood that tells." She looked at Jason.

"There's no doubt, Mulder, you are a descendant of hers. I could taste her in your blood. I was sure that night in the street."

"You saved my life before you tasted my blood," Mulder replied. "Why?"

"Because you reminded me of her, because you needed the help. You were chasing a vampire gone mad - there was no way you could have survived without my help. And I needed to know if you were who I thought you were."

"And you're certain that I am?"

"Yes."

"So you protected and helped Mulder and me because of your promise to Maria." Scully said.

"Yes." Again Jason settled for the simple answer.

"This is all very fascinating," Charlotta interrupted before Mulder could speak again. "I cared about Maria, too, Jason. But they are still federal agents. Protecting this one is well-enough, but it is still dangerous to involve them with us. For both them and for us."

"I know," Jason answered. "And I wouldn't have if there was any other choice. But we *need* help, Chara. We've lost three that we know of, including our eldest. And there is some indication that there may have been others, too."

"What!?" Chara leaned forward, eyes flashing.

"Do you think that they could hold three of us without some knowledge of us?" Jason asked her. "Scully thinks that they are experimenting on them, and my contact with Gerain supports that. They were able to weaken him somehow, using light. " He shivered.

"Yessss," Chara replied. "I have felt it too. But that only makes it more dangerous to involve them." She gestured sharply at Mulder and Scully. "Spreading the knowledge of our existence can be fatal Jason. If you wish to form your own blood-circle, fine. But you have no right to expose the rest of us!"

"We are here to help," Mulder interrupted, fixing her with a piercing stare. "You cannot fight this alone. These people operate in the daylight, and they obviously have resources. Scully and I are trained and experienced to handle this. You are not."

"We can take care of our own," Chara retorted angrily. "Don't think that locket protects you. *I* made no promise to your ancestor. It is only out of respect for Jason that I have not yet torn your throat out. Her eyes glittered dangerously. "I may yet."

"No!" Jason insisted. "They are claimed by BloodRight, you know the rules."

"BloodRight must be sworn in front of another vampire. Who was your witness? I have seen no evidence that you have even tasted their blood." Chara argued.

Exchanging glances, Mulder and Scully both reached out to pull their collars back, exposing the small, twin marks on their throats. Chara eyed them both, then smiled mockingly.

"Without a witness to the swearing it still does not hold." She replied, though her eyes traveled over both throats with unconcealed hunger.

"Then you act as witness," Mulder said, meeting her eyes without fear.

"Mulder..." Jason started to speak, then closed his eyes for a moment. "You do not have to do this. I told you both to let me handle this."

"Jason," Scully responded, leaving her hand in the hollow of her neck. "You need our help, and I think Chara knows that too." Scully withstood the lovely vampire's glare with calm composure. "We are no threat to you, Charlotta. You have committed no crime, and our duty is to protect all the citizens of this country, regardless of their...peculiarities. Jason assures us you do not kill to feed, and we are willing to accept his word. The question now isn't us or you, it is the three who are missing. Every moment we spend arguing here is a moment wasted towards rescuing them. Your enemies are out there, not here."

Mulder and Jason both nodded, Chara frowned. There was logic in the woman's words, she had to admit. But Chara was still furious with Jason for involving strangers, human strangers, so deeply into their lives.

"What you say makes sense, Dana." Chara's sibilant pronunciation of Dana's name charged it with erotic meaning. "But even if I let you pass, the others may not. Without proper ritual, the BloodRight claim will not hold up. You know that Jason."

Jason nodded, then looked from Dana's face to Mulder's. "I do not like to ask you to do this, but it might save your lives."

"What do we have to do?" Mulder asked.

"I have to take blood from you in front of Chara as witness."

"That's not difficult," Scully replied. "How do you want to do this?"

"Your wrists will be fine." Jason felt a mixture of emotions, the most powerful being renewed disappointment. Why could he never get a chance to do this with them properly?

Mulder and Scully eyed each other again, then each extended an arm across the table. Three pairs of eyes intent on him, Jason picked up Scully's hand first. Pressing a respectful kiss into her palm, he bit as gently as he could into the veins on her exposed wrist. She gasped and fell back into her seat, her eyelids drooping. Mulder moved to support her, but it was over in an instant. Jason closed the wound over with an expert flick of his tongue, and released her.

"You okay, Scully?" Mulder whispered into her ear.

"Yes, I'm fine," she stuttered. Blinking, she drew her hand back and held it against her chest. Then she pulled herself to an upright position, trying to regain her equilibrium. Chara's amused gaze was not helpful.

"Mulder?" Jason's voice drew Mulder's attention back from his partner, and he took a deep breath as he extended his arm back across the table. This time Jason was even quicker, leaving Mulder to experience a flash of pain and a jolt of pleasure, and then a sudden emptiness. He, too, was quick to snatch the hand back, his breath coming in short gasps. He could feel Scully's eyes on him, and he turned to flash a grin at her in reassurance.

"Satisfied?" Jason said to Chara, his voice thin and flat. She shrugged, her eyes lit with enjoyment. "Not really, but it will do. BloodRight sworn and witnessed by the ancient rule. So done, so shall be."

"Good," Jason said coldly. He could attempt to cover his emotions, but it was like putting a thin blanket over a roaring fire. It seemed to do no more than smolder. Surely they could read all him easily, sense the desire that ran through him in hot streams of pulsing need.

However, both Mulder and Scully were too caught up in their own thoughts to notice the roughness in his voice. And Mulder was well-trained to conceal his own feelings. He turned back to the reason they had come here in the first place.

"Chara, we need you to tell us all you know about Gerain right before he disappeared. Did he seem worried or upset? Did he notice whether he was being watched? Did anything unusual happen?"

Chara leaned back in her chair and considered the questions. She had mixed feelings about all this, but she WAS worried about her missing friends. And that concern found it easy to take the fore-front in her mind once her attention was focused on it.

"No, I didn't notice anything wrong. But I didn't see him every night. Once a week, sometimes less often. I last saw him about three days before he disappeared. He was the same as ever." She grinned. "Hungry, but always the gentleman." She frowned, pursing her full lips together.

"I didn't even know he was gone for over a week. I went to see him actually, but he was not home. I checked around and no one had seen him. And then I found that his protege was missing too."

"Protege!" Jason interrupted. "Who?"

"Some young girl." Chara explained with another amused smile touching the edges of her mouth. "Gerain always did like them young. And this one was a beauty." Her voice grew more serious. "Though I think he was really serious this time. He even talked of converting her."

"Converting her?" Scully drew in a deep breath. "How did she feel about it?"

Chara shrugged. "Don't know. Only met her twice, briefly. But she seemed to be quite capable of deciding for herself. Older than her years, that one. But then, I've never understood this new practice of treating teenage girls as children. I was married and bearing my first child by the time I was sixteen. And a woman was considered a disgrace if she was not married by eighteen or nineteen. But that was a long time ago."

Mulder found it hard to restrain the questions that rose unbidden to his mind. Just thinking about how much Chara and Jason must have seen over their long lives, the amount of history they contained - it tantalized and fascinated him. But now was not the time for it. Instead he asked quietly, "Do you remember her name?"

"I'm not sure, Cynthia, maybe, or Sandy...No, it was Cynthia." Chara replied.

"And her last name?"

Chara shrugged. No.

"Why didn't you tell me," Jason asked with annoyance.

"It didn't seem important. She probably just went back to her life after he was gone." She looked from one face to another. "You don't think she had anything to do with this?"

It was Mulder's turn to shrug. "Don't know, but it would be good to find out what happened to her. Do you know anyone who might know more about her?"

Chara looked thoughtful for a moment. "Andreas, maybe, or Florence."

Jason grimaced. Chara smiled.

"You may want to approach them without your companions. I doubt Florence would have my self-control."

"We'll see," Jason said tersely. "Is there anything else you remember, Chara?"

"No not really."

"What about Mark and Louisa?" Scully asked. "Did they tell you anything?"

"Not much." Chara sighed. Despite her misgivings, she honestly did want to help. But if she had known something, she would have acted on it already. "Louisa said something about a lead. That they thought they had an idea why he was taken. But she was mysterious about it, she always was melodramatic."

Jason grimaced. That was an understatement. Without the hindsight of knowing that she had been taken as well, Jason might have thought she was making it up. A picture of the voluptuous vampire formed in his mind. As different from Chara as night and day, it had always amazed him that the two managed to get along as well as they did. As well as any two female vampire hunting neighboring territories ever would.

Chara thought for a while, then shook her head. "I'm sorry I can't tell you more. But there was nothing. No warning that I could see." Her mouth grew tight. "But you are not the only one who has *heard* him, Jason. Find him soon, he's hurting bad. Gerain may have been... Gerain. But he helped me more than once."

Her resolve strengthened, and the fierceness of her anger turned her face into an ivory mask, the skin stretched taught around sapphire eyes. "Find them and destroy them, Jason. Or tell me, and I will do it if you don't have the stomach for it."

"We'll take care of it," Scully was the one who replied, her stomach doing somersaults as she truly realized for the first time just how dangerous the lovely, delicate vampire might be.

"You do that," Chara answered, sliding out of her seat. Pausing as she pushed the curtain aside to leave, she gave one final warning. "Be careful Jason."

Then she was gone.

xxxxxx

The laboratory was strangely silent in the night, even with the constant hum of the freezers and the buzz of the centrifuge. Those sounds were background to the man sitting hunched over the lab bench, never penetrating his awareness. His mind was focused solely on the blood samples spinning in the centrifuge. When the machine came to a stop, he opened the lid and withdrew them. transferring the supernatant to a waiting set of empty tubes. Lifting the pipetteman, he stabbed at a yellow tip, then pipetted in the oligo-dT magnetic particles, adding them to each of the cleared samples, one-by-one. He then flicked the tubes with his forefinger to fully suspend the minuscule brown particles.

Setting the small digital timer, he removed the gloves and stood up to stretch out the sore muscles of his back. He was getting close, he could feel it. The excitement and the worry drove him harder than he had ever been driven in his work before. He knew he was close to isolating the agent responsible for this disease called vampirism, and when he had that, then he was on the road to a cure.

Walking over to the sink, he automatically watched his hands in smooth, routine motions, his mind miles away. Or more exactly, down the hall with his daughter. She had been so beautiful, so full of life, until that creature had entered her life. No, he told himself, not creature - just a sick human being. The only way he could cope with this was by applying the science to which he had devoted his life, and someday that science would find a way to save his daughter from the disease that ate at her mind and body.

The last few months had been more painful than anything he could have dreamed of. To watch her fade into a blood-thirsty creature, sleeping like the dead during the day, screaming for blood in the night. But he had found a way to keep her from hurting herself or others, using fine-tuned lights to keep her confined to the hospital bed until he found a cure. Next he had taken the man who had infected her, and then two other diseased souls as well. The price they paid for spreading their infection would be to help him save his daughter from their sickness.

He didn't much like the people he had had to turn to for assistance, but he had been desperate. His university lab had been devoted to other work, and his grants were thin. To spend so much time on personal research - there was no way he could have afforded it without help. And to pay others to work as well would have been impossible. The research assistants they had found for him were not men he would have chosen on his own, but they were necessary extra hands. Certainly he knew they wanted the understanding of this disease for purposes different from his own, but it didn't matter to him anymore. All that mattered was the driving need to find the causal agent and then a cure. What the men in black suits did with it after his daughter was restored to herself was not his concern.

 

The timer sounded insistently, reminding him of work to be done. Pulling the gloves back on, he picked up the tubes and sat them into the magnetic stand. Soon the particles were pulled to the side of the small plastic tubes, and he could begin to wash them. Not much longer and he'd have more of the mRNA template to work with for the cDNA library construction. His primers and probes were prepared, already he had a line on the invading viral sequences. Soon, he'd have more, though it would never be soon enough.

Picking up the P1000, he lost himself in the work.

 

 **Part Five**

Mulder parked haphazardly on the curb, the rear-end of the car sticking out into the road. Their minds focused elsewhere, neither Jason not Scully bothered to say a word. Jason got out of the car silently, striding purposefully towards the heavy wooden door of the small apartment building, its aged brick front dark and dingy in the shadows. A small street lamp provided a thin stream of light across the car, just enough to allow Mulder to catch a glimpse of Scully's face.

"You OK, Scully?"

"Yes, I'm fine, Mulder," she replied automatically, then regretted the words as soon as they were out of her mouth.

Mulder eyed her critically, not sure whether he should push the point or not. They had decided to let Jason talk to the other vampires alone, while they waited in the car. Mulder hadn't liked it much, but he had had to admit that Jason was more likely to gain the other's confidence if he didn't have the two humans listening.

Scully took a deep breath, then released it slowly. "I'm just a little tired, Mulder. I feel a little like I've been on a rollercoaster-ride the last few days."

Mulder agreed. "I know what you mean." He yawned and ran a hand through his hair. "I was really looking forward to spending a day or two with you just relaxing. But we have to help Jason, I figure we owe him that much."

Scully nodded. "I'd want to help him anyway. He's a good person. A little distant and sad, but I like him." A small voice in her mind jeered, 'like? Is that all?' She silently told it to shut up, then nearly gasped as she caught Mulder's gaze. He had a startling way of seeming to see right through her, making her feel both understood and exposed at once.

"I like him too," Mulder said quietly. He felt for the locket still around his throat and lifted it up to study it closer. "That was quite a story he told."

"Yes it was," Scully reached out to touch the locket, her fingers brushing over Mulder's. He let go of the locket and seized her hand, holding her fingers gently, but firmly, then lifting them up to his mouth. Scully's breath caught in her throat when he kissed them, the heat of his breath making her skin tingle. Instinctively she leaned in closer to him.

He took in the taste of her skin, then reluctantly let her go. "Dana, I know that..."

"Mulder." She pressed her fingers up against his mouth, shaking her head. "I LOVE you." She had to fight for the words, expressing her feeling aloud was not always easy, especially when words did not seem to do them justice. "You and I - we complete each other, you make me feel whole."

He tried to speak again, but she silenced him. "Let me finish. Mulder, nothing, no one will ever mean to me what you do. Jason - yes, he attracts me." She nibbled at her bottom lip, a study in concentration. "Perhaps 'fascinates' is a better word. I want to know more about him, I want to know him. But I'd never let anything come between you and me." There, she'd gotten it out. It wasn't close to what she wanted to say, but it was a start. Steeling herself, she looked into Mulder's eyes.

Mulder felt like his chest would burst. His mouth trembled, unable to form words. He tried again, but nothing but a breathless "Dana..." escaped. Again the effort to focus, and he got out a rough, "I love you." It was enough. Her blue eyes seemed to light up, and then she was in his arms.

He crushed her against him, burrowing his face in her sweet-smelling hair. "Dana, Dana, Dana," he murmured between the kisses he planted on the crown of her head. She pressed her face into his chest and closed her eyes, this was the one place she could stay forever. His arms were like satin-sheathed steel around her, and she rested in them contentedly.

They stayed entwined for several long minutes, then Mulder leaned down to lift her face up towards his. She bent her neck up willingly, lifting one hand up to play with his hair. He grinned at her, then his expression sobered. Now it was his turn.

"Dana, I feel it too. I've never felt the slightest interest in another man, but Jason? I think you were right, 'fascination' is the right word. Maybe its the way he looks at me, like I'm everything in the world to him. Like he's afraid that I'll be taken away at any second. I know that feeling, I feel that way sometimes when I remember Samantha, and I KNOW I feel that way about you."

He brushed her forehead with his lips. "I realize now that he cares because of her, because of Maria, but its hard not to respond personally. No one has ever felt that way about me, wanted ME that badly."

He forestalled her comments with a wry smile. "Our love is special, Dana, and I have no doubts of it or of you. I thank God everyday for you, love, and I couldn't imagine life without you. But you are stronger, you don't lose yourself in your feelings, in me. Dana Scully is too vital a person." He smiled. "One of the many things I love about you."

She found herself returning his smile, as strange a compliment as it was, she both understood and appreciated it.

"I'm just not sure how to respond to him," Mulder continued, hugging her close as he turned his eyes onto the building into which Jason had gone. "I do care about him, am even attracted to him in a weird kind of way, but I'm just not his Maria."

"I think he knows that," Scully replied. "Its just that you bring the memories back so strongly. I think he relives it all every time he looks at you." Her voice was filled with sadness and sympathy.

Mulder sighed. "Yeah. I guess that's why he left so quickly last time. Though I could feel him watching sometimes. I'm not sure how I knew, but I could sense him there in the shadows watching over me. Not always, just occasionally." A shadow of a smile uplifted the corners of his mouth. "Though, I think he likes you too, Scully. And not just as a reminder of a lost love."

"I don't know, Mulder. He's so distant, so polite."

"A true gentleman."

"Something you could do well to emulate, Mulder." Scully couldn't help teasing him. She gained a full smile in response.

"Me? I'm always a gentleman," he replied, laughter in his voice.

"Well, maybe not 'always' Mulder...but sometimes..." Suddenly his eyes weren't on her anymore, but focused out into the night.

"What?" she asked, turning in his embrace to follow his eyes. Jason had left the building and was returning to the car. Mulder and Scully separated slowly, reluctantly, and not fast enough to escape Jason's night-adapted eyes, though he got into the car without comment.

"What did they say?" Scully asked.

"Not much," Jason answered with characteristic terseness. "But I did get a last name on Gerain's girlfriend. It was Killiard. Cynthia Killiard. She was a student at Georgetown. And apparently she disappeared a couple days before Gerain."

"Before!" Mulder paused in turning the key in the ignition, looking back at Jason. The pale vampire gave a cat-like smile.

"Gerain was quite worried apparently. He had converted her so recently that he was afraid she'd gone on a binge. Sometimes the blood lust runs too high in newborns when they have not yet learned to control it."

Mulder and Scully both winced, they had had experience with one crazed vampire already. They did not like the idea of another on the loose. "Do you think that she could be responsible for what happened to Gerain and the others?" Scully had to ask, even thought she was poking holes in the idea as soon as she verbalized it.

"No," Jason replied thoughtfully. "Gerain was too old, too strong. And she was his child. He'd have more influence over her than anyone else."

"Then not her, perhaps someone close to her." Mulder interjected. "Did they tell you anything about her family? Or a jilted boyfriend perhaps?" Putting the car into drive, he pulled away from the curb and guided the small car down the empty street.

"No, Mulder." Scully contradicted. "If it was someone seeking simple revenge, then why keep Gerain alive? If Jason's contact with him is to be believed, then he is being held by more than an angry ex-boyfriend."

Mulder had to agree. "But I still think she's the key somehow. Tomorrow we should try to track her down, or at least her family and friends. See if anyone knows what happened to her. Someone must have missed her."

"We ought be able to find out if someone filed a missing persons on her easily enough. And Georgetown should have records on her." Scully added.

"Sounds like a plan." Mulder glanced at the dashboard clock and frowned. "But first we'd better get back to my apartment. Its nearly dawn."

xxxxxx

Stifling a yawn, Mulder leaned back in his chair and rubbed the back of his neck. Pulling his glasses of his nose, he looked up as the office door opened to admit his partner.

"Hey Scully," he said quietly. "Got anything?"

She draped her jacket over the back of her chair, then walked around the desk to stand beside him. "No missing persons reports on a Cynthia Killiard, in fact no police records at all. She's clean, and whatever happened to her, no one bothered to report it to the police." She leaned back against the desk, using her hands to support herself. Mulder gazed at her with appreciation, tired as she was, she maintained her poise and her elegance.

"Did you find anything?" she asked.

"Yeah, it took a while to convince Georgetown to release the information, but I finally got a home address and a look at her class records. Pretty good student, 3.4 grade-point- average, majoring in history. Nothing too remarkable, but no trouble either - the Dean didn't recognize her name. She wasn't living on campus, apparently she stayed at home with her father. According to the Dean, she dropped out about half-way through last semester due to illness. They are holding her place open for next semester, in case she recovers."

"Did they say what kind of illness?"

Mulder shook his head. "The Dean didn't know. Her father is a doctor so they simply accepted his word for it."

"That's a bit strange. It must have been something serious for her to lose a whole semester, you'd think she'd have another doctor. Is her father in general practice?"

"No - and this is the interesting part, Scully - he's actually a researcher. A geneticist, specializing in developing vaccines for respiratory viruses such as influenza. He does have an M.D., but hasn't practiced for years." Mulder dropped his glasses into his pocket, and reached for the open file on the desk in front of him.

"He was running a lab at Georgetown, but went on sabbatical recently."

"How recently?" Scully moved to look over his shoulder.

Mulder grinned, leaning his head back to meet her eyes. "Just about the same time his daughter got 'sick.'"

Scully's eyes widened, but her mouth pursed. "So you think that her father, Dr. Killiard, might be responsible for the kidnappings?"

Mulder shrugged. "Its certainly possible. He has the technical expertise. Perhaps he thinks he is saving his daughter. Trying to find a cure for vampirism."

"Maybe," Scully replied skeptically. "But even if he has the training to examine the condition biomedically, there is still the question of where he is doing the work, and how he is funding it. That kind of research takes properly designed space and a lot of very expensive equipment. It's not something you could do in your basement - at least not without a lot of remodeling and a ton of money."

Mulder frowned. She had a point. He paged through the data he had gathered on Dr. Killiard. No evidence of that kind of money. The doctor was making a good salary, but nothing outrageous. "Well, maybe he got support from somewhere else. Georgetown apparently isn't paying it."

"Did the university tell you what he is supposed to be doing on his sabbatical?"

"Mmmm, yeah - he's writing a book on the immunology of infectious diseases. Or so they said," Mulder answered doubtfully. Then he turned around to meet Scully's eyes.

"I think the Killiards are at the center of this, but there's got to be more. Jason talked about men, in the plural. I'd be surprised if Killiard was able to rope too many others into this, unless..." He broke off, his eyes losing their focus on her face.

"Mulder?" Scully prodded, with a sinking feeling the pit of her stomach. She *knew* that look.

His eyes came back into focus. "Unless he was able to convince someone that they could profit from his work." Excited, he leapt to his feet and began to prowl the room. "Imagine what this could mean, Scully. If what you suggested is true, and vampirism is caused by some kind of virus, then it could be studied and controlled. Vampires live for hundreds of years without aging. They seem immune to most kinds of death. The ability to reproduce such a condition would be worth a fortune. Not to mention the military applications."

"Mulder!" Scully sighed, brushing loose strands of hair out of her eyes. "This is all guesswork. All we really have in the way of evidence is four missing persons and Jason's statement that he had a psychic contact with this Gerain. That's pretty thin data on which to be hypothesizing that some company or the government is kidnapping vampires so that Dr. Killiard can experiment on them."

"Scully," Mulder responded with frustration. "Jason is a vampire, you can't deny that. And I don't see that it is such a big leap from accepting what he is, to believing him when he says he can contact others of his kind psychically."

"Not necessarily, Mulder." Scully argued. "OK, I have to admit Jason is what we would term a 'vampire.' I'll accept that since I have to. But it is a big leap from there to assuming that his admittedly fleeting and confused mental contact with Gerain is real. Or that he really understood what he was sensing. And even if we accept that, it's even more of a leap to accuse Dr. Killiard of mass kidnapping, including his own daughter."

"Do you have a better explanation, Scully?" Mulder challenged, one eyebrow inching up his forehead. He leaned back against a file cabinet and folded his arms across his chest. As frustrating as her stubborn skepticism could be, he always got a kick out of these exchanges. Especially when he was sure he was right. Though he didn't mind being proved wrong occasionally; one way or the another, Scully would push him towards the truth.

Scully didn't have a better explanation, she knew it, and she knew he knew it too. With a breath of a sigh, she admitted as much. "But that doesn't mean there isn't another more plausible explanation, Mulder."

"Sure," he replied with an utterly annoying grin. "In the meantime, I think its about time to pay the good Doctor a visit."

xxxxxx

 

Mulder pounded on the door to the Killiard house. Set slightly back from the road on a quiet block of Chevy Chase, Maryland, the old, white three-story home had a large front porch and tree-lined yard. It looked peaceful and ordinary, but empty.

Mulder banged on the door again, then rubbed his knuckles in annoyance. Scully wandered down the length of the porch, gazing into the brown-shuttered windows at thick curtains and shadows.

"There doesn't seem to be anyone at home," she told Mulder.

"Damn!" he swore, checking his watch. "Its almost sunset, I had hoped to get a chance to talk to Killiard before we go back to Jason. We have so little to tell him."

"I know," Scully said, feeling his frustration mirror her own. "But there's no sign of light inside, and no car in the driveway. He's not home, and unfortunately we have no way of knowing where he might have gone."

Mulder didn't bother to respond to the obvious. Running a weary hand through his tousled dark hair, he walked to the steps and stared out at the darkening sky. The sun was setting in a blaze of red, orange, and yellow light on the horizon. "I think I'm going to stick around in case he comes back. Why don't you go pick up Jason and bring him back here? I'll call you on your cellular is anything happens."

"Mulder, I don't like the idea of leaving you here alone. If Killiard is involved in this, he could be dangerous." Scully gave him a worried look.

"I'll be fine, Scully. If it makes you feel better, I'll try to stay out of sight until you and Jason catch up with me. I just don't want to take a chance on missing him."

Scully eyed him suspiciously. He was giving her his sincere look, the one that always made her feel like the mother of a teenage boy. However, he was right. Someone did need to stay and keep watch.

"Okay," she gave in grudgingly. "Just be careful, Mulder - please!"

"I'll be fine," he grinned at her, leaning down to give her a quick kiss. "Go on, the traffic is likely to be awful and I don't want Jason to worry about us."

"Mulder, if I take the car, you'll be stranded." He looked startled for a moment, then flashed a toothy grin. "Always practical, my love." He gazed around the empty street for a moment, considering, then his eyes brightened. "You'd better leave me the car in case Dr. Killiard decides to come and go. There's a metro stop a couple blocks down..." He pointed randomly off the left.

"Its more like four blocks, and in that direction..." She gestured at right angles to his arm. He shrugged, then gave her a slow warm smile that crept up over his face like a spring dawn. "Be careful, Dana. I'll call you if anything happens, or if I end up on the move."

"OK," she said, wishing they weren't separating. Something bad always happened when they did, but then again, bad things seemed to happen around him regardless. She lingered a moment close to him, savoring his presence, then hurried down the steps and past the waiting car. Crossing the street, she glanced around to catch a glimpse of his profile as he began to circle the house. Be careful, she thought to him urgently. Please.

xxxxxx

Jason stirred, and opened his eyes. The room was unfamiliar, the shapes of the furniture menacing in the shadows. He felt a sudden sense of unease, then a rush of relief as he remembered where he was. Sitting up in bed, he pushed his hand through his hair, shoving the long, fair bangs back behind his ears. He needed another hair-cut, but it was the least of his concerns at the moment. He appeared to be alone.

"Mulder? Dana?" he called out, the sound of his voice abrupt in the empty room. Sliding off the pull-out bed, he used the nearest couch arm as a guide as he got to his feet. But his eyes were quick to adjust to the darkness, the pupils gleaming yellow-white in the dark. Shapes resolved into objects, and the light streaming under the closed door to the hall threw a bright yellow triangle on the floor.

Moving with silent ease, he wandered through the small apartment, confirming the absence of his friends. They knew he would be awakening, so where were they? Fear seized at his stomach, tying it up in a convoluted knot. Thinking that they might have left him a note, Jason walked back towards the living room, then reached for the lamp on the table beside the sofa-bed. A small smile lit his grave features as he remembered the state of the bed and Dana's reaction to it. Her nose had wriggled delightfully, Jason had wanted to kiss it - and he'd seen the feeling mirrored on Mulder's mobile features.

Just as his fingers closed on the switch on the base of the lamp, the sound of footsteps in the hall caught his attention. He froze in place, waiting in breathless quiet as they stopped just outside the door, followed by a metallic clink. Instantly, he was across the apartment, standing just beside the door. It opened slowly, and a small figure stepped into it, the flood of light momentarily blinding Jason's sensitive eyes.

Leaping out of the shadows, he grabbed the intruder around the waist and spun...her to face him. With a gasp, she struggled wildly, purse and keys falling to the floor as her hands came up between them defensively.

"Jason!"

"Dana!" They spoke in unison. With a sigh of relief, Scully slumped into the waiting strength of his arms. He tightened his grip around her, drawing her close. The small vampire was not much taller than she was, so that her head fit comfortably onto his shoulder, instead of the middle of his chest, as it did with Mulder.

Dana closed her eyes, her pulse racing. She was simply reacting to her accumulating exhaustion, and his sudden attack. That was all, she told herself, not really believing it.

Jason held her close, his chest unmoving, though his mind was racing. She smelled of life itself, warm and sweet, tinted by the lingering spice of her perfume. Her hair was like silk against his chin, and her breath warmed the skin of his shoulder through Mulder's thin tee-shirt. Desire whirled through him, it had been too long since he had held a woman he truly cared for. Moving one hand slowly up her back, he cupped the back of her skull ever so gently, then tilted her head towards his.

The stroke of his hand up her spine sent shivers of delight through her body. She found herself resting her head back into the palm of his hand, letting him support her as he slowly lifted her face towards his. The brush of his lips on hers was no more than a whisper of a breeze, but it turned her knees to jelly.

"Jason," she murmured, as his fingers brushed her cheek, his eyes pinning hers.

"My lady," he responded, his voice a soft caress. She closed her eyes, ready for a deeper kiss, when another face swam behind her eyelids, another voice whispered in her mind.

"No...no...no," she pushed him away, and stumbled further into the apartment.

Jason stood where she left him, then silently closed the door.

She stood by the desk, resting her hands on the smooth wooden surface, drawing in deep ragged breaths. He walked up behind her, tapped her shoulder lightly, then stood back and waited.

When she spoke, her voice was taut with emotion, regret and determination, anguish and sincerity. "I love Mulder, Jason. I love him."

"I love him, too." His voice rang with truth, and a touch of resignation.

She abruptly spun to face him. "You mean you love Maria, and he reminds you of her."

"No...Yes...No," Jason shook his head, blond strands of hair sliding over his shoulders. When he looked at her his eyes were gleaming a clear gray-green. "He does remind me of Maria, and I will always love her the way I'll never love anyone again. But I love him, too. For him."

He left her to go sit on the edge of the bed. "Yes, it is the characteristics that he shares with her that first drew me to him. But he isn't her - oh so much like her - but not totally. They are like... brother and sister, twins - alike and different. Each a distinct personality, yet each a mirror of the other."

Scully's breath caught in her throat when he said "brother - sister." She had seen that possibility in the picture Mulder religiously wore around his neck, and knew that Mulder had seen it too. She hadn't pushed him on it, but she knew that he had had some faint hope that the woman might be his sister. It was too farfetched a thought to have been spoken, but one of Mulder's strongest characteristics was his child-like faith. He was capable of an easy acceptance of the extraordinary that made any fantasy possible, and any dream a potential reality. That part of him sometimes ran counter to the skepticism and cynicism that all law-enforcement officers tended to develop, especially the ones who dealt with violent crimes. A fatalistic understanding of the worst of human nature came with the territory, and Mulder was no stranger to it. He lived a balancing act between the two emotions, sliding from belief to disbelief with remarkable ease. And she envied him that capability.

Jason caught the edges of her turbulent emotions, and he instinctively reached out to reassure her. "I would never do anything to hurt him," he told her with deep sincerity. "Or you. I promise I will do nothing without your permission."

"Jason?" The sound of his voice brought her back to the situation at hand, though she did not quite catch his words. But despite the darkness, she could read his intention, his attitude screamed sincerity and understanding, as well as a depth of inner torment she had only seen before in Mulder. And that touched her more deeply than anything he could possibly have said.

"Jason," she repeated, stepping up close to him. Placing her hands on his shoulders, she leaned up to kiss him gently. "I don't quite know what is happening here, but I do trust you. Maybe even more than I trust myself. Mulder and I, somehow we have managed to find something special between us. I can't, I won't risk that. I couldn't imagine living without him."

Jason felt, more than heard her words. He was assaulted by his memories, by the intensity of his love for Maria and the pain of his loss. He understood Dana's feelings all too well, for he had seen the depth of their love for each other. But he knew his feelings for Mulder had grown into more than a simple reflection of his love for Maria. "I love him too," was all that Jason could offer.

And this time - Scully believed.

 

**Part Six**

Mulder had circled the house twice before settling down in the shadows to wait. He had long-since taught himself to handle this kind of waiting with a minimum of frustration, though he couldn't help wishing for a bag of sunflower seeds. Scully's absence bit at him, leaving him feeling all the more alone. He'd been on thousands of stake-outs, alone and with others, but her presence always made it easier. Even when they simply sat in silence, the passing time seemed almost a blessing as long as she was there by his side. 

Hoping that she had made it back to the apartment and to Jason safely, his attention was jolted by the sound of a car coming up the road. He watched carefully, but not tensely, since the likelihood was that it would simply drive by. However, this time, his vigilance was finally rewarded. The small green car turned into the driveway and came to a halt beside the house. 

Crawling against the edge of the house, using the bushes as cover, Mulder edged over to get a closer look at the man exiting the car. The small outside light above the side door illuminated a thick, haggard face with deep-set eyes under bushy eyebrows. Heavy dark areas underlined the eyes, giving the appearance of shiners around both, and the mouth was drawn tight below a large, craggy nose. The glimpse was over quickly, as the man deftly twisted a key in the lock and went inside, but it was enough. 

Watching as the lights came on in the house, Mulder reached into his pocket for his cellular phone. 

xxxxxx 

" 

Damn!" Scully swore under her breath as she dumped the contents of her purse into the table, searching for the phone which was, inevitably, on the bottom. Her eyes watered in the sudden glare as Jason helpfully turned on the lights. Grabbing the incessantly ringing object, Scully pressed the receive button and pressed it to her ear. 

"Scully." 

"It's me." Mulder's voice was velvet in her ear, closing the distance between them instantly. 

"Mulder," she responded aloud for Jason's benefit. The vampire came to stand beside her, his face calm and expectant. 

"Where are you?" Mulder asked. 

"At your apartment," she replied. 

"Good. Dr. Killiard just came home." Mulder crept up to a window, seeking a glimpse inside. All he saw was an empty bedroom, but the window was slightly open in the warm June weather, letting the sound of running water flow out into the night. "I'd guess he's taking a shower." He sniffed the air. "And from the smell of it, making dinner as well." His stomach growled with a sudden reminder that it had been a while since he had eaten. 

"Anyway, you and Jason had better get over here. Is he awake yet?" 

"Yes, he's right here. We'll leave immediately. Don't do anything until we get there." Scully told him, hoping he would have the patience to wait. 

"OK Scully - but..." She steeled herself for his argument. "Stop and pick me up a burger or something, would you." His voice became plaintive. "I'm starving!" 

xxxxxx 

Dr. Patrick Killiard tended to his physical needs with barely withheld frustration. As comfortable as a shower and clean clothes were, his mind kept racing back to the lab. There was nothing more he could do there, the experiments were in the incubation phase, one of the long periods in which he was forced to sit back and wait for the cells to grow, the PCR machine to complete its cycles, the reactions to proceed. Research was often an exercise in patience, but his was running thin. Standing over the incubator wasn't going to make anything happen faster, but he still hated being away. Even to put food in his mouth or sleep. 

The microwave bell rang, reminding him of the frozen lasagna he had thrown in. The smell wafted through the house as he drew it out and wolfed it down, hardly noticing the pain as the hot cheese burnt the roof of his mouth. His mind was focused on the next steps awaiting him, and on the coming of the night. 

Since his Cynthia had been corrupted by that vile creature, he had come to revel in the sunlight. He kept the lights on high in his lab, the windows wide open in the daylight. He didn't exactly fear the night, the sensation was closer to one of disgust. His enemy was a creature of the night, so he made himself into a creature of the day. 

Tossing the empty cardboard box into the trash, he grabbed his coat and keys. Flicking off the lights, he hurried out of the house and into his car. Just as he was about to close the car door, his eyes focused on a flash of movement in the shadows along the edge of the house. He stilled instantly, every sense coming alert as he peered into the rear-view mirror. Then inch- by-inch, he closed the car door and started the engine, his eyes searching the reflected image for more signs of motion. 

There! A brief rustle of the bushes, and the faint edge of a thin figure. And with it, the sudden itch along his shoulderblades that defined the sensation of being watched. Someone, something, was there in the darkness, its eyes intent on him. Putting the car in gear, he slid it out of the driveway, eyes darting around. As the car turned, the headlights captured a flash of a face, burned into Killiard's retina in one breathless instant. No more than the edge of a cheekbone, the corner of a mouth, and one dark, gleaming eye. But enough to graft itself into Killiard's memory. 

xxxxxx 

Damn! Mulder swore under his breath. One minute the doctor was eating his dinner, the next he was out the door and starting his car. Without warning, Mulder could only dive for cover, then half-crawl, half-run for his own car parked several feet down the road. He fumbled with the keys, finally hearing the engine burble into life as Killiard's small green car disappeared around the corner. 

The Taurus' engine roared as Mulder floored the gas pedal. He took the corner at breakneck speed, then slammed on the brake as he caught sight of Killiard's car moving at a sedate pace less than a block ahead. Slowing down to a matching pace, Mulder followed at a discreet distance, his almost clairvoyant intuition chiming its excitement. The case was about to break. Killiard was in the middle of the mystery, and he was leading Mulder straight to the answer. Reaching into his pocket, Mulder found his cellular phone and hit the re-dial button. 

xxxxxx 

Dr. Killiard was leading his pursuer straight into a trap. Certain that he had another of the infected creatures on his tail, he had called ahead to the lab to alert security. A gruff, but calm voice told him to continue all the way to the company as though he had noticed nothing. He should pull through the gates, and get into the building in all haste. They would be ready to pick up the man in the blue car when he arrived. 

xxxxxx 

"Mulder!" Scully began to protest, but Mulder was already speaking again. "He's making another turn onto High Point Drive. I'm going to slow down a bit, there's very little traffic, and this is a dead end. He's got to be headed for either IntelliGene or PharmCo. There's nothing else here. And they're both on our list of possibles. Get here as soon as you can, Scully." His voice rose with anticipation. "I'm sure this is it!" Then he was gone, the phone falling into dead silence. 

"Mulder... Mulder!" Scully yelled into the receiver impotently, then slammed it shut. Jason's eyes darted from the road towards her, meeting her eyes in a gesture of shared worry and frustration. Then he concentrated on his driving, causing the tires to screech as he pushed the car as fast as he dared. 

xxxxxx 

Mulder pulled the car up to the side of the road and parked. Close by was the long, angular PharmCo building, lights still burning in its large glass-paned windows. Figures still moved around inside, light reflecting of the white of their lab coats, starkly obvious to the observer in the external darkness. 

The IntelliGene building was a hulking shadow in the distance, its heavy concrete solidity standing in sharp contrast to the airy lightness of PharmCo's glass-covered form. IG rose high, a single dark tower squatting above a long one-story extension. Mulder couldn't resist the phallic analogy that rose unbidden in his mind, and he filed it for further amusement. It wasn't the same without Scully's arched eyebrow and disdainful stare. 

But the thought was still enough to put a smile on Mulder's face as he moved cautiously down the empty, tree-lined street, avoiding the pools of light beneath the carefully-spaced streetlights. A few feet down the road, he dipped into the bushes, forcing his way towards the fence surrounding PharmCo's parking lot. It was brightly lit, allowing him to see the cars easily, but there was no sign of the one he watching for. Abandoning PharmCo, he turned his attention back to the IG building. 

There was an open grass area between the two lots, surrounding a small pool and fountain. A couple benches were scattered on the lawn, mixed with bushes and flower beds. Mulder kept under cover as best he could, coming ever closer to his goal. So intent was he on the looming building, that he didn't notice the fence until he nearly crashed into it. A small indentation in the ground caught his feet, and he tumbled to the ground, his face inches from the wire fence, the unused flashlight tumbling from his hand to hit the bottom of the barrier. 

  

Sparks flew in a small explosion, jolts of electricity coursing through the metallic object. Mulder buried his head in his arms, drawing back in self-defense as the warped flashlight crashed to the ground, sending up the scent of burnt metal. 

"Over eighty thousand volts are running through those wires. I'd be a bit more careful if I was you," the words were spoken flatly, though flavored with both amusement and menace. Keeping a careful distance between himself and the fence, Mulder slowly turned over to confront the source of that voice. And came face to face with the muzzle of a gun. 

xxxxxx 

Come on, Mulder, answer!!!!! Scully let the phone ring and ring, refusing to give up on her partner. If had simply gone off and left his phone in the car, she was going to strangle him! But she knew better, her constricting heart was already warning her that he was in trouble. All of her instincts were screaming at once. Gripping the still-buzzing phone in a white-knuckled hand, she glanced over at Jason's profile. 

He didn't turn to face her, simply tightened his hands on the wheel and took the next corner without touching the brake. She wasn't expecting the sudden change of direction, and she was tossed sideways, slamming against the door. Her gasp of surprise was accompanied by the crash of the phone against the dashboard. It collided, then flew back to hit her in the chin. 

"Ouch!" she muttered, more in annoyance than pain, though she felt the jolt along the entire length of her jaw. She didn't bother telling Jason to slow down, he wouldn't, and she didn't want him to anyway. 

Straightening herself out, she finally spoke the obvious. "Mulder's not answering his phone. Which probably means he's in trouble." She was amazed how composed her voice was, her emotions were raging. 

Jason nodded barely perceptibly, his eyes never leaving the road that was rushing by them. He had no doubts Mulder was in danger, all of his senses confirmed it. He couldn't contact Mulder at a distance the way he could other vampires, but he had developed enough of a sense for this highly-perceptive human to feel the edge of his fear. Forcing down the rage that burned like wild-fire in his belly, Jason bit off his practical reply. "It will probably take us another half-hour to get there." 

"I wish we had more information." Scully's voice was thick with her frustration. "We don't even know for sure where he is." 

"We go to his last location, and search from there. If I get close enough, I may be able to sense him." Jason offered, feeling the spark of hope his words lit in her heart. "We'll find him, Dana." This time he spoke with absolute certainty, resolute and unshakable. He would allow nothing less. But Scully knew full well that sometimes all the determination in the world was not enough. She'd been on the other end one time too many, and though her memory of that terrible time was gone, she'd shared enough of Mulder's to know the full anguish of it. However, those memories were too painful to deal with right now, first she had to do everything she could for Mulder. That small spark of hope reminded her that they didn't yet know for sure that he was in danger, but the rest of her mind shouted its certainty. 

"I wish I could call for back-up," Scully said, refusing to let her feelings interfere with the job at hand. "But without more evidence..." She left the rest of it unsaid. The Bureau would never provide them with more agents on this, even if it had been an official case - which it wasn't. They had never filed any paperwork, so this would be seen as another instance of 'Spooky' Mulder sticking his nose in where it didn't belong, and there were plenty of people in the FBI who would love to see it get bitten off. 

Jason didn't waste any time making his decision. He'd go in alone if he had to, no one was going to hurt Fox Mulder while Jason was still able to walk, or even crawl, to his aid. He knew Scully felt the same way, she'd walk into hell itself for her partner and lover, no questions asked. That feeling bound them together, it was an intimacy that made the previous blood sharing, even their recent kiss, pale by comparison. Nonetheless, some additional help would be useful, extra pairs of eyes to search and hands to fight. Jason demanded the phone from Scully. 

She handed it over immediately, her eyes framing the question that her lips didn't ask. Her silent inquiry was answered bare moments later, as Jason shouted into the receiver, "Hank, this is Jason Cavillo. I need to speak to Charlotta Gurin at once. It's an emergency." 

xxxxxx 

Mulder hated being handcuffed. When your hands are tied behind you, there is simply no comfortable position possible. His wrists were already rubbed raw and his shoulders felt like they were being slowly pulled out of their sockets. The muscles of his arms and back ached in protest. He stretched and wriggled, trying to move the cuffs off a particularly sore spot developing on his right wrist. Then he lifted his head to study the room in which he was confined. 

He was sitting on a small hospital bed in the middle of a narrow, rectangular cell. The walls were made of white concrete, devoid of any decorations. The door was painted white, a small shuttered window in the middle. Bright florescent light shimmered down from the ceiling panels, forcing the irises of his eyes to dilate fully. He stumbled to his feet and began to pace back and forth like a caged panther, his shoulders bunching and relaxing in an effort to relieve the developing cramps. 

After what seemed an eternity, the door finally opened. He spun to face the three men entering the room, his eyes glittering like diamonds. 

"What the hell is going on here!?" he challenged, deliberately taking the offensive. 

"Shut up," one of the men, dressed in a gray uniform grabbed him by the arm, wrenching his shoulder painfully. Mulder bit off his gasp, instinctively preparing for the impact as he hit the bed with a stinging jolt. Rolling back to his feet, he gave them a burning glare, but held his tongue. 

"That's enough Wefton," said the other stranger, a thin, slender man in a black suit and gray tie. Mulder filed both faces and names in his perfect memory, then focused on the one familiar face. 

"Dr. Killiard, I hope you realize that kidnapping is a serious offense, and that kidnapping a federal agent will put you under federal jurisdiction. Do you want to spend the rest of your life in a federal prison?" 

Killiard reacted with surprise to the sound of his name. Narrowing his eyes under bushy white-speckled eyebrows, he stepped forward, demanding, "Who are you and why were you following me?" 

"Special Agent Fox Mulder, Federal Bureau of Investigation." Mulder did not fail to notice the flash of recognition on the black-suited man's face, however quickly it was hidden. Mulder offered an amused smile. "I'd show you my badge, but I can't quite reach it at the moment." 

"FBI!" Killiard's breathing sped up. This was turning into a fiasco, and a frustrating waste of his precious time. He desperately wanted to get back into his lab. He had been upset at being followed, convinced that it was another of the creatures, which would at least have been useful. But this man was human and obviously uninfected. They had subjected him to the wavelengths of light that would have caused instantaneous burns in someone carrying the vampire-virus, but he hadn't missed a step. 

"Why were you following me?" Killiard repeated. 

Mulder perched on the edge of the bed, debating for a second how much to tell them and whether he could get away with insisting that they uncuffed him first. He decided to wait, perhaps they would reveal more if it seemed he was less of a threat. 

"I'm investigating a series of missing person reports that may involve foul play. One of the alleged victims knew your daughter, Cynthia, and she seems to have dropped out of sight as well. I came to your house in the hope that either you or she might provide me with some information." 

"Cynthia has not disappeared. She is presently under medical care," Killiard spoke rapidly. He gave Mulder a suspicious look. "And I know nothing of any missing people." 

"Did your daughter introduce you to a man named Gerain St. Corvaux?" Mulder's voice smoothed out into gentle rhythm, his eyes wide and open. But Killiard was not about to be lulled. 

"NO." Killiard said bluntly. He paused. "I know nothing of this Gerain," he added with emphasis. 

But Mulder had already seen the flare of recognition in the other man's eyes, and knew instantly that he was lying. Without betraying that knowledge, he continued quietly. "Have you ever met Marcus Waters or Louisa Tirent?" 

"No, no, I told you I know nothing of these people. They have nothing to do with me or my daughter." 

Mulder's eyes narrowed under heavy eyelids, the doctor was lying. He was sure of that. However, Killiard didn't seem to realize that Mulder knew. 

The agent considered his captors. The guard was watching with a bored, impatient look on his face and Mulder recognized the type, more brawn than brains, and a penchant for violence. As long as the others kept him on a tight leash, he could be dismissed. The doctor gave his full attention only at the mention of his daughter, making Mulder wonder if the doctor even knew half of what was happening. Killiard might be a problem if directly challenged, but he was definitely not in control here. Mulder quickly decided that it was the wary, silent man in black who would pose the greatest danger. He had to make them think he knew less than he did, and much less than he suspected. 

Assuming a look of utter disappointment, Mulder asked Killiard again, "Are you sure?" He leaned forward and fixed his wide hazel gaze on the doctor's face. "Think carefully. Cynthia might have mentioned them in passing. Or maybe you saw them, without learning their names. I have sketches of them in my car." He angled his head towards one of the walls at random, his voice rising hopefully. 

"I told you, I don't know them, and my daughter doesn't either." Killiard slammed shut again, his mouth tightening in emphasis. 

Mulder shook his head. "I have witnesses that saw your daughter with Gerain St. Corvaux before he disappeared." Mulder sighed, "Perhaps she just didn't mention him to you." His face brightened. "I'd like to see her, if it is possible. She may be able to give me some useful information if you can't." 

"NO!" Killiard shouted, then pulled back visibly as Mulder gave him a look full of questioning concern. "She is too sick to be questioned. I'm sorry we can't be of more help." Killiard almost felt guilty at the frustration on the federal agent's face, then he shook it off, his suspicions flaring up. How much did the agent know? Did he realize what Gerain and the others were? 

"Who are these people you are looking for?" Killiard asked, holding his breath tightly as he examined Mulder's face intently. Mulder was an expert at controlling his features, and his handsome face settled easily into a calm professional mask under the doctor's scrutiny. 

Mulder shrugged, wincing openly at the pain in his arms, using it as a cover while he thought. "St. Corvaux was an artist, painter, I believe. Tirent was his model, Waters apparently was her boyfriend. A friend reported them missing recently. Since all three have disappeared within a short time of each other, and they knew each other, the FBI was consulted on the possibility it was a serial case." Mulder returned Killiard's gaze openly. "When we found that your daughter had left school very suddenly, and she knew all of them, well..." 

"You think Cynthia had something to do with it?" Killiard sounded angry. 

Mulder gave him another wide-eyed innocent stare. "It had to be investigated. If she is as ill as you say, then this is simply a dead end. I am sorry for the misunderstanding, Doctor, but I had to be sure whether she was involved or not." He winced vividly. "Do you think we could remove these cuffs?" He wriggled, a pained pout forming on his face. "My shoulder is going to sleep." 

Killiard thought for a moment, then shook his head. He wanted to believe the agent was telling the truth, but he couldn't take a chance on it. Not with his daughter's life at stake. Nothing could be allowed to interrupt the work now. He didn't like the idea of messing with the FBI, but for now this agent would simply have to 'disappear' as well. 

Mulder saw the decision on Killiard's face and felt a familiar rage rising within him. He was thinking less of himself than of Scully and Jason. This would be rough on them both, and he knew they would come after him. Nothing would stop either of them from trying, and he was afraid they would be walking into a trap. All he could do was to make sure that no one knew they were coming. At least he could make sure they had the advantage of surprise on their side. If anything happened to either of them because of him, he would never forgive himself or any of these men. 

Mulder let his darkening eyes move over to the man in black who was gazing at him with unconcealed amusement. Using his anger as a shield, he leapt to his feet and charged forward, catching them all by surprise. 

Mulder hit the small man in the chest with the top of his skull, slamming him back against the half-open door. The dark- suited man cried out in shock, the sound trailing off as his head hit the corner of the door and he crumbled to the ground. Mulder stumbled over him, crashing to his knees. Before he could get up, he was seized from behind and slammed into the wall. A hard fist pummeled his kidneys, and he went down, gasping in agony. A booted foot hit him in the ribs and he collapsed into unconsciousness, with a slight sense of accomplishment alleviating the pain. He wouldn't be answering any questions now. 

xxxxxx 

Killiard left the unconscious federal agent in a heap on the floor, propelling the brutish guard out the door. "That's enough." he said sternly. "We simply want him held until the work is done, not killed. The last thing we need is a dead FBI agent on our hands." 

The guard grumbled, but subsided under a pointed admonishment from the man in black, who was leaning against the wall of the hallway, regaining his breath from Mulder's sudden attack. Dismissed, the guard stalked away. 

"Mulder is going to be trouble," the dark-suited man told Killiard. 

"You know him?" Killiard asked angrily. 

"I know OF him. He's given our people headaches before; he likes to stick his nose where it doesn't belong, and he never gives up." The man in black frowned. "But it is too dangerous to kill him. It will attract too much attention. Besides we don't know how much he already knows or who knows he is here" 

"We can't let him go!" Killiard responded. "Nothing must interfere with my work!" 

"We may have to move to another installation. Mulder can be drugged and released once we are gone. Then he can make all the wild accusations he wishes, and no one will believe him." 

Killiard didn't return the other man's smile. "Moving will slow me down considerably. I don't like this. The vampires hardly exist in society at all. How could they get to the attention of the police, much less the FBI? I don't believe someone filed an ordinary missing persons report on them." 

"I don't know, but we can check on that. See if the case was authorized. It may not have been. Mulder has a reputation for going off on his own, and that should play into our hands. The Bureau might not even know what he was doing." 

Killiard grimaced. He was still upset, but felt a driving need to get back to his work. He rubbed at the tense muscles in his neck. "Do what you have to do, just make it fast. I have to get back to the lab." He turned away and strode down the hall, his mind already shutting the incident away. Nothing mattered but finding a cure for Cynthia. 

The man in black stood alone in the empty hall for a moment. Killiard was not a problem, he was too obsessed with his search for a treatment for his daughter's condition. He'd work in a cave if he was given the right equipment. The only problem was the man on the other side of the nearby door. How much did Mulder know and who had he told? 

  

**Part Seven**

Curled up into a small ball of misery on the bed, Gerain's sluggish senses began to stir. Shielding his burning eyes with a thin arm, he turned over, lifting his nose into the air in the manner of a sniffing dog. Rocking up onto his knees, he snarled at the locked door. The touch might be faint, but it was there. Distant, but closing fast. Fighting the desire to drift back downwards into the release of slumber, he gathered the remnants of his strength and threw out a silent scream. Echoing out from his tortured mind, it carried both a warning and a plea for help. 

xxxxxx 

Jason and Scully crept through the darkness together, Jason leading, Scully close behind. He moved like a shadow, blending in so well with the darkness that only the glimmer of the moonlight on his protruding fangs and the red glow of his eyes betrayed his location. Scully kept her head down, her small flashlight throwing a pencil-thin beam of light across the grass. They had circuited the now-dim PharmCo building, its glass- paned surface reflecting the light of the moon and stars in an ever-repeating pattern, without finding a clue to Mulder's whereabouts. 

Jason paused as he rounded the final corner, gazing around him intently, his face turned into the breeze. That Mulder had been close by, of that he was sure. He could feel the traces of the man's presence n the air. But not in the big glass building. It didn't feel right. Jason turned and stared across the dark rippling surface of the pond at the stark ugly building beyond, and staggered as his mind was hit with a wave of fear and anger. 

"Jason?" Scully whispered urgently. She took hold of his arm, steadying him. He shook his head, then pulled free of her grasp, racing across the grass. Scully took off after him, her heart pounding in her chest. 

The small vampire covered the ground easily, reaching the high-voltage fence that surrounded the IG complex in seconds. Running as fast as she could, Scully was still long minutes behind, and when she finally located Jason crouched beside the high, wire barrier, her breath was coming in short quick gasps. "Ja-son?" she asked again, falling to her knees beside him. 

He angled his head up towards her, the beam of her flashlight falling sideways across his cheekbones and jaw, causing the fangs to glisten brightly against the redness of his lips. She drew in another deep breath as a stab of incoherent, instinctive fear clutched at her. She clamped down on that irrational emotion, even as he moved closer. This was Jason, she reminded herself, letting the trust and affection she felt for him soothe the innate primitive reaction to the dangerous predator so close to her. 

Jason sensed the burst of fear, and part of him responded eagerly to it. The hunger had awakened making the blood that raced through her veins nearly irresistible. The memory of her taste was so clear in his mouth that it made his teeth ache. Suddenly the image of Mulder's face flashed in front of his eyes, and he focused on it, somehow finding the will-power to force the hunger down. But it still coiled within his belly, waiting and insistent. 

His voice was ragged as he proffered the object clasped in his right hand to the woman kneeling by his side. "I found this." 

Scully absentmindedly tucked a wing of hair behind one ear as she aimed her flashlight at the blackened object - a warped twin to the one grasped tightly in her hand. 

"Mulder's flashlight!" 

Jason nodded. "He was here. My guess is that he got captured and taken inside. The grass looks like he lay flat on it, and there are heavy indentations on the grass from a man's boots." He frowned, as his eyes scanned the area. "Must have been a rather big man by the look of it. 

Even with the aid of the flashlight, Scully couldn't see much of anything, but she was willing to accept Jason's interpretation. His eyes were more effective in the darkness than most people's eyes were in the full light of day. She rose to her feet and stared at the hulking building towering over them. "It is not going to be easy to get in there." 

"We'll find a way." 

xxxxxx 

Scully shivered as the cold fingers of the breeze brushed her cheeks and ruffled her hair. She was leaning on the hood of Jason's car, waiting with growing impatience. He was standing beside her, motionless, his face an ivory carving shimmering in the moonlight. She shifted position wearily, yanking the wayward strands of hair out of her eyes. The movement captured his eyes, and he reached out to touch a coppery strand. 

Their eyes met, red fire clashing with blue, and she let herself relax against him. He caught and held her, his voice warm against her skin. "We'll find him, Dana. I promise." 

"Don't make promises you can't keep, Jason," she replied, though the tenderness in her voice softened the words. She gazed into his face, reaching up with one tentative hand to touch the smooth enamel of his fang where it brushed his lower lip. 

"You can never guarantee your own safety, much less someone else's," she continued bitterly. "The best you can do is be grateful for what you have, when you have it." 

Her voice remained calm, the intensity of her fear evident only in the trembling of her lower lip and the wideness of her sapphire eyes. Jason touched that lip with a gentle finger. "He is alive, My Lady. I can feel him in there. Just as I can sense Gerain and Louisa." 

His face tightened in concentration, his eyes clouding over. "Mark?" Jason shook his head. "He may not be alive, or may simply be in too deep a sleep for me to reach his mind. "But the others are there. In pain," His eyes refocused into an angry red glare. "But not for long." 

Scully could feel the intensity of his rage emanating from him, forming a tight counterpart with her own. But before she could find the words to express it, a sultry voice spoke from behind her. 

"Am I interrupting?" 

"Chara," Jason lifted his head to peer over Scully's shoulder, his arms still holding her tight. "You took your time." 

"It wasn't easy rounding everyone up on such short notice, Jason. This had better be good." Scully turned in Jason's grasp to meet the dark, lovely vampire's amused eyes. 

"We found them," the human woman spoke with calm composure, refusing to be intimidated. 

"Where!?" 

"There." Jason pointed at the nearby IG tower. Chara looked up at it, her eyes narrowing in concentration. Her exotic features iced over instantly into a look of pure fury, as she suddenly began to move towards the big building at extraordinary speed. 

"No, Chara!" Jason was just as quick, managing to get in front of her. Released from his embrace so suddenly, Scully staggered against the car, using it to keep herself upright. 

Chara hissed at Jason, baring her fangs in an angry grimace. He grabbed her arms and shook her, baring his fangs in return. "Not yet," he insisted. "If we go in there without planning, we'll end up like Gerain and the others. They have Mulder, too." 

That caught Chara by surprise, enough to make her stop fighting Jason. Her reply was grudging, the words lisped through her teeth. "What are you planning?" 

"How many were you able to bring?" he asked. 

"Three others," she answered, inclining her head towards the trees. Three figures stepped out into the road, two men and one woman. The tallest man was nearly Mulder's height, with sandy brown hair pinned back into a pony-tail, and the gleam of a gold hoop in one ear. The smaller man looked like a corpse prepared for burial, thin and cadaverous in a tuxedo and bow-tie. The woman gleamed brightly between them, silver hair framing an oval face above a child-like body. Only her eyes betrayed her age; deep and violet, they spoke of experience, horror and pleasure, love and hate, and memories long forgotten. 

"Why do we wait, Jason?" The silver-haired vampire spoke in a musical lilt, the menace all the more frightening because it came mixed with such beauty. 

"To make sure we get this right, Annyce." Jason replied. He turned back to Scully, motioning for her to join them. Gathering her courage, she stepped forward, feeling five pairs of eyes on her every move. It was like walking into a tiger's cage and she felt like she was about to become someone's lunch. 

Pony-tail spoke her thought aloud. "Providing us with dinner first, Jason?" 

"No." Jason pulled Scully close to him, baring his fangs as he spoke fiercely. "She is mine by BloodRight. Chara stands witness." Chara nodded, then her face lit up in a brilliant smile. 

"Sorry Miguel, but this one's off limits unless you want to fight Jason and me. As good as she might taste, I think we have better things to do right now." The smile widened. "There is plenty of food waiting for us in there." She inclined her head towards the waiting tower. 

Annyce frowned, biting at her lower lip with one delicate fang. "How are we supposed to fight them, if they know how to capture and hold our kind. They will be ready for us." 

"Ready in general, perhaps," Jason replied. "But they do not know we are coming now. We must attack from all sides at once. In pairs. And we have one more advantage they will not expect." He turned his eyes to Scully. 

Miguel frowned, eyeing the small, red-haired woman with disdain. "Just how is she supposed to help?" 

This made Scully angry enough to disregard the consequences of enraging the vampire. "I am a trained federal agent. In fact, I'm the only one here who has experience doing this. Those bastards have my partner as well as your friends, and I'm going to get him out." She glared at Annyce. "With - or without - your help." 

Her jaw jutted forward as the vampires began to laugh. But before she could spit out another angry retort, Miguel interrupted. "She's got spirit, this one. No wonder you claimed her, Jason." He let his eyes travel up and down her body languidly. "OK, little spit-fire. You stay with Jason. Unless you'd rather come with me..." 

"She stays with me," Jason said with a note of finality in his voice. "We will go in the front. Her badge ought to put the guard off balance for a moment. Besides, if, as we suspect, they have learned to use light against us - it won't affect her." 

Chara nodded, that made good sense. "Annyce and I will go in the side. It shouldn't be too difficult to break a window. Miguel, you take Johann and go around back. Knock out the power lines. Darkness is our ally, not theirs." she gazed at him as though he might find that simple task too difficult. He merely bared his fangs in amusement. 

"Done," he replied, tapping the remaining vampire on the shoulder and turning to leave. 

"WAIT!" Jason demanded. 

"What?" Annyce responded with annoyance. 

"There is another captive inside. Dana's partner. A man named Fox Mulder. He is to be found and released - unharmed." He pinned each of their eyes in turn. "I mean it - not so much as one scratch." 

"Getting a little greedy in your old age, are you, Jason?" Johann spoke for the first time, his voice surprisingly deep. 

"Dana and Fox are MINE," Jason repeated. "Do what you like with any of the others in the building, but they are not to be touched." 

"And how are we supposed to know who this Fox of yours is?" Annyce asked with amusement. 

"Think tall, dark and handsome and you won't go wrong. He smells pretty good, too." Chara grinned. 

"Chara," Jason sighed with annoyance. She laughed and turned to the others, her voice shifting into a stage-whisper. "Jason's a bit sensitive about his first man. He'll get over it." 

"Tall and dark and pretty doesn't help us all that much," Miguel pushed, while the others shared a laugh at Jason's expense. 

The blond vampire frowned at the others, anger rising deeply in him, causing Scully to quickly proffer a more detailed description. 

"Six-feet tall and slender with straight, short dark hair and fair skin. Hazel eyes, mole on right cheek. Last seen wearing a black suit, white shirt, black tie with red and yellow dots on it." 

That won a giggle from Annyce, who smoothed down the lines of her perfectly-fitted navy-blue dress. "Red and yellow? Dots? That shouldn't be hard to miss." 

"It isn't," Scully answered, a rueful smile creeping up on her lips. "His ties are usually noticeable." 

Jason felt frustration rising. "We're wasting time!" he reminded them tersely. 

Sudden silence followed his words, then abrupt flashes of motion. One moment, the four vampires were there, the next instant they were gone, melting into the night. 

Scully shivered despite herself, the stress of the meeting catching up with her. Jason wrapped an arm around her in support, then pulled away. "Are you ready?" 

She undid the strap over her gun, caressing the cool metal with her fingertips, then met his eyes and nodded. 

"Let's go." 

  

Carefully pipetting the layer of infected white blood cells off the top of the sticky mass of plasma and red cell debris, Killiard transferred the creamy fluid to a fresh conical centrifuge tube sitting on ice. As he picked up the ice bucket, a sudden clatter behind him sent his heart beat racing. Pivoting around, the green bucket clutched against his chest, he drew in a deep sigh of relief. It was just the ice machine. As if in accord, the refrigerator suddenly burst into loud activity, its buzz adding to the whirring of the centrifuge and the constant humming of the freezers, to create a soothing level of white noise. Smiling at himself, he walked over to the sonicator and placed the bucket underneath the long silver-colored rod. Donning the heavy headset that would protect his eardrums, he adjusted the controls until the sharp, high-pitched whine of the sonicator filled the room. Then he lifted the entire ice-bucket carefully, bringing the vibrating selenium tip down into the tube of cells. Bringing the bucket up and down, he let the tube of cells rest between ten second treatments with the sonicator, soon breaking the thick cell solution into a clear fluid. Satisfied, he turned off the machine and removed the headset. Lifting the tube, he swirled it and smiled. A quick centrifugation to remove cell debris and the lysate full of the viral proteins would be ready. All he needed now was a test subject - and he had one ready at hand. Certainly, it would be better experimental procedure to have duplicates and controls, but he was short of both time and available uninfected human subjects. As extensive as his benefactors' resources seemed to be, he doubted they could provide him with enough willing - or unwilling - humans for his work. So he'd take what he could get - the intruding federal agent would at least provide him with a good supply of human antibodies to the viral proteins. As he set the centrifuge in motion, he mused again about the ability of the vampire virus to shut down antibody production in the host's B cells. The cells were not killed, instead they served as multiplication sites for the virus, as did the T cells and other immune cells, including macrophages and NK cells. But the effective functions of all the cells were significantly altered. Not eliminated in the way that the HIV virus decimated T cells, but changed. In fact, the infected cells appeared to be more active, actually 'supercharged' in their reaction to other infectious agents. But their ability to fight the vampire virus itself was destroyed. Somehow, it managed to subvert the immune system into seeing it as 'self,' and thus protected against the natural immune response. His thoughts circled and shifted, shooting back to another interesting puzzle, and then another. Why and how the virus-infected cells needed to cannibalize red blood cells, devouring hemoglobin at incredible rates; how the virus caused such a powerful increase in healing; how it defeated the natural aging process... So many questions, and so few answers. But he was finally making some progress. The centrifuge buzzed as it came to a stop, and he drew out the tube. Slowly, so that he would not waste a precious drop, he transferred the cleared supernatant into a sterile, pre-labeled tube. Placing it on ice, he went back over to his lab bench to pick up a syringe and needle. Perhaps, his 'partners' in this venture might not be too happy with his experimenting on their newest captive, but Killiard did not care. And he doubted that they would protest very much when he delivered the results. As he walked purposefully down the hall, Killiard felt rather like a child about to be taken out for ice cream. He knew he would have to be patient, for the process of antibody formation could take days or weeks, but in the meantime, there would be the physical effects of the injections to monitor. That data would be the icing on his cake. 

xxxxxx

Mulder groaned, rolled over onto his back, and immediately regretted the movement. His weight came down on his pinioned hands causing sharp lances of pain to shoot up his arms. Biting down on a cry of pain, he pushed upwards, throwing his head forward, fighting for a sitting position. It took two attempts, but finally he came upright, sitting on the floor, his legs stretched out in front of him. Trying to ignore the burning agony in his wrists and the numbness of his hands, he stared around him. Of course, nothing had changed, but at least they did not appear to have moved him. Or killed him - a fact for which he was dutifully grateful. How much time had passed, he wondered. Then he shook the thought aside. Jason and Scully would be doing everything they could to find him, and he hadn't exactly made it easy for them. This is your own fault, Fox Mulder, he told himself. You just couldn't wait for back-up. That thought had a familiar Scully-ish ring to it, and the memory of her voice chiding him with just such a comment, brought an edgy smile to his lips. Taking in a deep sigh, he tried to ignore the stab of pain in his side. First things first - could he get to his feet? Slowly, he drew his knees upward until his feet were flat on the floor. Then he pushed himself backwards towards the wall, until his hands and bottom were pressed up against the concrete surface. Levering himself against the wall as much as he could, he tried to force himself upward, a whistling sound escaping his throat as his calves and thighs protested. But he kept pushing, and almost made it. But without his arms free to provide requisite balance, he soon found himself tottering, then tumbling, over to the side. "Bloody Hell!" His right shoulder hit the tiled floor with a loud crunch, and bounced. He rolled nearly a full one-eighty and came up on his stomach, now laying parallel with the wall. Closing his eyes he rested there for a moment, then gathering up the remnants of his dignity and strength, he forced himself to try again. Up to sitting position - yes, that came more easily this time. Then he wriggled back to the wall. Taking stock of his situation, he had a truly brilliant idea, and soon was scuttling across the floor to the corner. Wedging his back into the crevice, he started to push himself upwards again, - and FINALLY - success. He was on his feet. And then - the door opened. 

Scully drove up to the gate, rolling down her window as the armed guard approached her, hand resting on the butt of his gun. Bending down towards her, he eyed her with obvious suspicion. "Special Agent Dana Scully, Federal Bureau of Investigation," she told him, displaying her badge. The guard frowned, his eyes narrowing as they moved from her to the badge and back again. "I'm here to see Doctor Patrick Killiard," she said calmly. "I wasn't informed of this." The guard hesitated. Scully gave a polite smile. "That is because Dr. Killiard doesn't know that I am coming." She assumed her best professional manner. "I have some questions to ask him regarding an investigation. If you would please inform the Doctor that I am here to see him." "Wait here." He replied tersely, stepping back towards the gatehouse. She pocketed her badge, watching him carefully as he shut the door behind him, then picked up the telephone and began to talk. Just as he nodded and replaced the receiver, she edged the car forward until the front bumper of the car was mere inches from the heavy metal barrier. By the time she turned her cool blue gaze back to the gatehouse, the figure of the guard was slumped against the glass of the window, his head twisted at an odd angle. Pressed against the glass, his face held a peculiar mixture of shock and ecstasy, the mouth cavorting in a silent scream, the eyes open and fixed, a trickle of blood splashed across his chin. The sound of the car door opening and closing, made Scully jump. Jason gave her his predator's smile, then angled his head towards the slowly opening automatic gate. Collecting herself, she gunned the car forward. 

The front doors to the IntelliGene building were made of solid oak, but Jason pushed them aside as though they were made of feathers. He burst into the lobby with Scully on his heels, paused to let his eyes take in the room, then stalked towards the security desk. As quick as he was, the two guards were on their feet and reaching for the weapons by the time he came close enough for them to see his eyes and mouth. One shouted a cry of alarm, bringing his gun to bear on Jason as the vampire lunged over the desk. The shot went wild, the bullet whizzing through the lobby to hit the far wall, while the guard screamed in agony. Jason had already wrenched the gun out of his hand, the bones crunching in the vampire's iron grip. Together, they tumbled backwards onto the chair, which spun backwards on its wheels, spilling them to the floor. One more strangled gasp escaped the guard's lips, then his head fell back against the thick brown carpet, blood streaming out of the gaping wound in his throat. "Freeze," Scully's voice was icy as she aimed her gun at the second guard. His shocked eyes darted from her to Jason's bloody mouth, the fangs dripping gore, back the weapon pointed steadily at his heart, then he stilled in place. "Drop the gun," the red-haired agent instructed. "Slowly..." she cautioned. He hesitated, she stepped closer. Jason snarled and stood up, turning towards the second guard, his lips drawn back from his teeth. Trapped between them, the guard abruptly let the gun clatter out of his hand, then turned on his heels and fled down the hall. Scully's bullet struck the wall just off his left shoulder at nearly the same instant that Jason struck him from behind. There was one more strangled cry, and then another body lay twitching on the floor. Scully ran up beside Jason. He remained crouched over the wounded guard, unaware of her presence until she put a tentative hand on his shoulder. Then he leapt to his feet, his eyes gleaming a bright senseless red. He moved towards her, and though her first instinct was to run, the second to shoot, she followed the third - and threw herself against him. He grasped her, crushing her in his embrace so tightly she could barely breath. She gasped roughly, then reached up to take his face in her hands. "Jason, Jason, Jason..." she repeated his name over and over. He shook his head back and forth, peering into her eyes as though he was trying to see through a fog. "JASON!" She cried, "I need you. Mulder needs you. Please..." her voice dropped off to a pleading whisper. "Dana...Mulder..." The green in his eyes reasserted itself through the red as he finally focused upon her. "Yes, Jason, Yes," she almost sobbed with relief. The effort of bringing the bloodlust under control was visible in his face and his body. His muscles were tense with strain, flexed tight against the warmth of her body. His skin was a cold porcelain, veins standing sharp within, as the fresh supply of blood filled them with its heat. "Jason!" she urged again. "We have to find Mulder." Her eyes were insistent on his. He nodded in response, not yet able to bring words out of his throat. Silently, he pivoted, his hands still clamped on her arms, bringing her around with him. He released her arms, and stepped over the unconscious guard, face coming alert as he stared down the empty corridor. Relief surged through Scully, her heart pounding in her chest as though a sudden weight had been lifted from it. Pulling her gun from its awkward position in the waistband of her skirt, she warily followed the vampire down the hall. 

Killiard opened the door to find Mulder braced against the corner of the room, his bound hands pressed into the crevice, his feet braced against the floor. Blood trickled from a gash along the hairline of his forehead, the wound mostly concealed by a heavy swath of black hair, now damp with blood. His chest was heaving with exertion, his eyes black with rage. Deliberately ignoring the agent's angry glare, Killiard shut the door behind him and walked forward to deposit the ice bucket, syringe and needle onto the end of the bed. Mulder watched silently as the white-coated researcher then unwrapped a syringe, attached the needle, and drew up the whitish fluid, waiting until Killiard looked at him to speak. "They will never let you or your daughter go." Mulder attacked, edging out of his corner. "You are working for very dangerous people. Even if you were to find a cure for vampirism, they'll never let you use it. They want to control vampirism, to make better killers that they can manipulate." Mulder saw his words hit home, Killiard's mouth opened in surprise, his eyes finally focused fully on Mulder's face. Mulder pressed his advantage. "They don't care about your daughter or about you. Or about the cure. They want the secret to vampirism, so that they can create more vampires, but ones that are under their power. They are evil, Doctor Killiard. You cannot give them such a powerful tool. Let me help. We can expose them, stop them..." "No!" Killiard shook his head, hand tightening on the syringe. "The only evil here are the sick individuals you call vampires. They know they are infected with a disease and they deliberately spread it to innocents. My daughter was victimized by that...man Gerain. He infected her. Turned her into a blood- crazed killer!" "It doesn't have to be that way. Vampires do not need to kill to survive. There are other ways to give them the nourishment they need. Blood can be donated. If Gerain is a killer, then turn him over to the authorities!" "Authorities?" Killiard sneered openly. "The police are going to be able to arrest and hold a vampire?" "Police or the FBI. I've dealt with maddened vampires before, twice. And succeeded both times." Mulder swallowed the facts that Kristen had died to stop the vampires the first time and Jason had been responsible for killing the second vampire. Instead, he tried to force his point home. "Cynthia can be taught to handle her condition by those who live without killing, until you can find a cure. But not like this. The people you are working with are a thousand times worse than a blood- or age- crazed vampire, they KNOW what they are doing. They hurt and kill, lie and deceive deliberately, with full understanding. Don't sell your soul to these monsters, Killiard. It's not worth it. There are better ways to help Cynthia." Mulder's eyes blazed, as he silently pleaded with Killiard to listen. Mulder held his breath as he saw the other man's expression waver. Then his heart sank as the resolve visibly reformed in the craggy features. "No." Killiard denied. "You are in with them, aren't you? You've been seduced by their hypnotic eyes and drugged on the endorphins they pump into your weakened veins while they drain you of your life's blood." "No, no, no," Mulder shook his head. "It's not like that." Killiard blazed with hatred. "They will be stopped. My supporters will make sure of that. The vampire scourge will be cleansed from the earth. I will save Cynthia, and the remainder of the unclean will be destroyed." 

"How?" Mulder asked, his voice thick with sarcasm. 

"What?" Killiard was taken aback by the sharp question. 

"How do they intend to destroy the vampires?" Mulder asked again. "Vampires can only be killed by another vampire." 

"What?" Killiard stared at him, eyes open wide under the bushy eyebrows. "No, sunlight will kill them, and after my studies are finished..." 

"Maybe you will develop a way to kill them, I don't know. But I saw a vampire supposedly dead from sun-exposure come back alive. Perhaps if the sun is allowed to combust them totally." Mulder shrugged. "Maybe a strong enough explosion would do it also. I don't know. But I do know that it isn't right to kill innocent people just because they have an unusual diet requirement." 

"Unusual diet requirement!?" Killiard shouted. 

Mulder grinned. "Well, that's all it really comes down to isn't it. The need to drink blood, and then the extended life, of course. But that's not a crime. And the blood need can be met without killing anyone, so most vampires don't kill because it is both unnecessary and dangerous. If they are not killing or harming anyone, then they are no legitimate danger to society." 

Mulder continued to argue with cold logic. "As citizens who live within the law, they deserve the same protections of that law as you and me. Among those rights are the rights not to be murdered - or kidnapped." He slammed that last word home. "You are already facing serious criminal charges, Dr. Killiard. Don't make things worse for yourself. You will be of no help to your daughter if you are spending the rest of your life in a federal prison." 

Killiard struggled for a tense moment with Mulder's argument, then he shook it aside. His obsession with curing his daughter had combined with his intense scientific curiosity to produce a blinding need - a focus that excluded all other considerations. Mulder easily recognized the symptoms, it was a condition he was all-too familiar with, having suffered from it himself. Only Scully had ever been able to penetrate it, to force him to step back and see his own actions from a more objective position. 

But without a "Scully" to balance his life, to give a different kind of meaning to his existence - without that support, Killiard was lost to his obsession. 

"No," Killiard whispered the syllable. "No," he insisted, more to himself than to Mulder. "My work is progressing well. The people funding my work understand. They have been patient and supportive. I'm so close to a cure. SO CLOSE...I just need..." He finally remembered the liquid-filled syringe in his hand, and his face hardened with determination. 

Lifting the syringe, he advanced on Mulder. "And with your help, I'll get the answers I need all the sooner." 

Mulder backed up, eyes drawn inexorably to the small syringe. "What is that?" He asked warily. 

Killiard smiled. "A protein lysate from infected cells. I need antibodies, you are going to provide them." 

"Oh no, I'm not," Mulder replied angrily, dancing out of Killiard's reach. "You can't do this." 

Killiard sighed with exasperation. "Please don't make me call the guards in to hold you down. This will be quick and easy if you will just stand still." 

"Go to Hell." Mulder weaved out of the way again, working his way around to the opposite side of the room. However, he had very little space to work with, the four walls seeming to collapse around him. He struggled uselessly against the cuffs binding his arms as he found himself backed up against the end of the bed. With satisfaction, Killiard reached out to grab him by the left arm, shoving him hard against the mattress. 

"Aaaahhhn," Mulder fell flat backwards, his arms trapped beneath him. He twisted and kicked up, trying to free himself from Killiard's grip on his arm. 

Killiard smoothly side-stepped the kick, coming at Mulder from the side. One hand held the furious agent's arm, the other aimed the needle of the syringe at his neck. 

"NNNOOOO!" Mulder screamed. 

The lights flickered and went out. 

Alarms exploded. 

Darkness surrounded them - not one thin ray of light trickled under the door, not one blurry image could imprint itself on their eyes. Nothing....but the whining screech of the alarm bells filling the absence of light with a cacophony of sound. 

Mulder jerked and twisted his body desperately, his breath catching in his lungs as he braced himself for the sharp plunge of the needle into his flesh. 

  

The door flew off its hinges and crashed to the floor. Just Killiard felt the syringe hit something soft and yielding under the pressure of his hand, a pair of powerful hands seized him from behind and lifted him of his feet. 

"Aaaccgggkkkkhhh," he cried out as he found himself flying through the air. He struck something solid, the bone of his skull cracking loudly, then he crumbled to the floor. 

Mulder cried out inarticulately, fighting to get to his feet. 

At that very moment, the lights flickered and came on, this time a low yellow glare, as the emergency generators clicked into gear. Mulder's eyes blinked and watered, then focused on one of the most beautiful sights he had ever seen. 

Chara stood over him, her long black hair loose and thick over her shoulders like a waterfall made of oil. She was clad in matching black, the only color coming from the pale luminosity of her skin and the glowing red of her eyes. Baring her fangs in a predatory smile, she reached down to pick him up, sliding her long-fingered hands under his arms, then lifting him as easily as a mother would lift her child. 

"Chhhaarraaa," he stammered as she deposited him lengthwise on the bed, then got up beside him, resting on her knees. 

"You're hurt," she told him, reaching up to press one finger into the blood-soaked hair on his forehead. He winced at the shock of pain at her touch. "Easy," she murmured, brushing the matted bangs aside to look at the gash across his temple. Blood still oozed from the center of the wound, and it drew her total attention. 

Ignoring his gasp of pain, she touched the tender spot, bringing her finger away coated with the bright red fluid. Feeling his eyes intent on her, she smiled again, this time warmly, sensually; slowly bringing that finger to her mouth. Mulder's eyes never wavered from her as she sucked his blood off of her fingertip, her tongue flicking out and along her full, red lips. 

Then she lowered the hand back to his forehead, sweeping the recalcitrant lock of hair away again. Leaning down over him, her silk-clothed breasts pressed into his chin, causing his pulse to race, his breath to hold and release in short gasps. He felt her lips brush the sensitive skin near the wound, then the hot flicker of her tongue, causing waves of pain and pleasure to crash through his body. 

"GET OFF HIM NOW!" Chara's weight was suddenly removed from Mulder, and he shivered at the abrupt surcease of her mouth on his skin. His eyes flickered open to see Jason shoving Chara up against the wall, Killiard laying in a heap at their feet. 

"Never ever do that again," Jason's words were barely audible, hissed through gritted teeth and bared fangs. 

Chara simply leaned back against the wall and grinned at her friend. "I was merely closing his wound, Jason." She let out a bubbly laugh. "As sweet as he is, he's not worth the fight." She licked her lips, then gazed hungrily over Jason's shoulder. "Well, at least not NOW." 

Jason gave her an angry look, then sighed and gave up. Trying to argue with Chara was a losing proposition at any time. He didn't know how, but he always came away feeling like he'd missed something important, but couldn't recall what. 

Chara saw the look of resignation on his face, and let her grin slip into a soft smile. "Put me down, Jason. I think they need you now." She looked over his shoulder towards the bed. 

Scully had been right behind Jason when he burst into the room and pulled Chara off Mulder. Her eyes focused only on her partner, Scully ignored the heated conversation between the two vampires. Rushing over to the bed, she scrambled up beside Mulder. 

"Are you okay?" she asked anxiously, repeating Chara's motions, instinctively reaching for his blood-encrusted face. 

Mulder winced, angling his head away from her probing fingers. "I'm fine! OUCH!" He gave her a full-fledged wounded- puppy-dog look, his eyes bright as he gazed up into her lovely face. 

"Thank God," she said devoutly, drinking in the rumpled, dirty, but still-gorgeous sight of him. Then her eyes narrowed. 

"Uh oh," he thought, visibly cringing, as she began to speak. 

"What the HELL did you think you were doing, Mulder? I told you to wait until we got there. You know better than to go in alone without back-up. Do you LIKE getting yourself hurt? Do you have some kind of death-wish? Dammit, Mulder, you scared me half-to-death." 

"Scully, I... I'm sorry," he whispered, feeling his heart sink as saw her bright blue eyes turn moist with unshed tears. His tongue felt like it was made of cotton as he tried to reach for the words that wouldn't come. 

Jason's shadow fell over Scully's shoulder as his hand closed on her shoulder. Scully leaned back against him, turning her head to look up into his face. He tightened his grip on her, then spoke calmly to Mulder. "Are you all right?" 

Mulder nodded. "Yeah, just get me out of these damn things!" He twisted to expose his metal-cuffed wrists. 

Jason stretched one hand down and took hold of the handcuff's chain. With one twist of his arm, he snapped it in two. 

Scully stared up at Jason, knowing she shouldn't be surprised at his strength, but not being able to help her amazement. For his part, Mulder sighed with relief, groaning under his breath as he pulled his arms around in front of him. Then he grinned up at Jason. "Nice trick," he commented. 

Jason silently returned the smile. 

The moment was broken by loud noises behind them. A voice screamed in anguish, followed by the sharp reports of gunshots, echoing down the hall. Chara was first to the door, peering out into the dimly-lit hallway. 

Jason was beside her in an instant, Scully lingered to help Mulder to his feet. But once standing, he was alert and ready, moving up behind the two vampires. "What's happening?" he asked. 

"Trouble," Jason replied tersely. 

"Annyce can handle them," Chara added. Another loud cry of pain sounded, supporting her claim. Mulder opened his mouth to ask who 'Annyce' was, but Chara beat him to it. "We'd better get them out of here," she told Jason, turning her glowing red eyes onto the two humans. 

Jason agreed. "I'll go first, Mulder and Scully after me, then you take the rear, Chara." 

"Wait a minute..." Mulder and Scully spoke in unison, then paused to stare at each other. 

Jason's grim features were a study in impatience. "Later," he urged, "We have to get out of here!" 

"No," Mulder got in first this time. He gestured at Killiard. "We have to take him with us." 

"What?" Jason yelled. Then Scully broke in, "Mulder, we don't have time." 

"Then we'll make time!" Mulder insisted. "He has information we need. We have to know what they are doing, what they KNOW. And what we can do to stop them. Otherwise, none of us are safe." 

Jason made a quick decision. Trusting Mulder's instincts he stepped back into the room, picked up Killiard and tossed him over his shoulder. The unconscious scientist moaned and shifted, then settled in the vampire's grasp. 

"NOW, lets go!" 

**Part Eight**

Sirens whined, lights flickered, feet pounded on tile as they raced down white-walled halls. Scully and Chara led, the vampire flitting from shadow to shadow, the flame-haired agent stalking her ground, gun held outward with steady aim. Mulder stayed close behind Scully, keeping his eyes alert for trouble from behind, while Jason followed bearing his heavy burden. 

"Scully!" Mulder yelled as two guards leaped out at them from behind. She spun and fired, while Mulder pushed Jason and Killiard against the wall, protecting them with his body. 

Shots rang out, bullets flying from three guns. "Umph!" Scully hit the floor hard, gun clasped in both hands, arms stretched outwards along the cold tile. Chara took a bullet in her lower abdomen, doubling over in response, then straightening up with a howl of rage. Blood oozed from her belly as she began to walk towards the astonished guards, her eyes blazing fire. 

They hit her again, she barely staggered. Again, and she cried out, stumbling against a wall and clutching at her chest. But still she kept moving. Scully frowned from her position on the floor as Chara stepped between her and the guards. 

"Chara!" Mulder shouted her name, but his voice was drowned by the screech of the alarms. Blind to everything but her prey, she closed in on them swiftly, reaching out to close her hand over the muzzle of one of the guns even as the man holding it fired. The bullet pierced her hand and hit the far wall with a thud, but Chara merely smiled, baring her fangs in a wide grimace. Tightening her grip, she wrenched the weapon from the terrified guard and tossed it over her shoulder. Then her teeth found his neck. 

Mulder leapt for the gun, catching it in mid-air and wrapping it into his chest as he somersaulted to the floor. Head bent under, the back of his shoulders struck the floor first, then the rest of his back followed, then his hips and legs tucked under. He rolled over and up to his feet, bringing the gun out with certain hands so that it pointed straight at the other guard who was standing in frozen shock, his gun aimed at Chara with trembling hands. 

"Put it down." Mulder bit of the words as he inched forward, his lungs working hard to recover his breath. Jason came up beside him, having deposited Killiard on the floor. Scully, too, scrambled to her feet and joined them, all converging on the frightened guard. He took in their grim faces, lowered his gun, turned around, and ran for his life. 

Jason grabbed Chara's shoulders, yanking her off the man she was feeding from. She struggled with him for a moment, then gave in with a hiss of disappointment. Letting the guard fall from her grasp she turned to stare at him, her tongue licking at the blood staining her lips and chin. 

Brushing past Mulder and Scully, Jason reached down to take the moaning, semi-conscious Killiard by the arm and drag him to his feet. Chara joined them leaving Scully and Mulder in the rear. Again they hurried down the hall towards the front lobby. 

xxxxxx 

Annyce had gone in the other direction, hyped up on the fresh blood. She could take all she wanted without fear of discovery - and she was soon lost in the Hunger, reveling in the flood of the precious liquid down her throat. Blinded by blood- lust, she hardly noticed the two bullets that struck her, and the strength to tear the doors off their hinges came without effort. 

She had almost forgotten what she was looking for when she finally tossed aside the door to Gerain's room. Her red- hazed eyes focused on his face, then she was across the room to his side in less than a second. 

"Annyce..." his voice was a hoarse whisper, his eyes a faded brown, skin chapped and sore. 

"Gerain," she responded, her voice lilting with triumph. "Come, come, with me. It is time to feed and then to leave this accursed place." 

Gerain felt some hope penetrate his fogged mind, and the hunger rose sharply, insistent and demanding. Somehow he got himself on his feet, then Annyce was there to support him. He stumbled, his feet half-dragging, half-walking - but he made it. Out into the hall and to the nearest body. Annyce lowered him to it and stood watch as he tore into the flesh, burrowing his entire face in the bloodstream, chugging the fluid down his throat. 

Then, having given him as long as she dared, Annyce tugged at his shoulder, speaking insistently. "We have to go, Gerain. Quickly, we must leave!" 

He took one more swallow, then another, but he also felt the need to get out. The night called, the moon and the stars, the feel of fresh air across his skin, and freedom. Above all, freedom. But first, there was one last thing he had to do. 

xxxxxx 

Miguel and Johann had entered the building by a side door after disabling the power lines feeding into the building. They had taken out the telephone cables also, as an added precaution. Once they were on the inside, they began to sweep their way through the building, searching for prey. They found it quickly, first a white-clad technician, then a tall, black-suited man. 

And then they found her, strapped to a bed, eyes wild and starved, tossing like a boat caught in a hurricane upon the crumpled sheets. Miguel freed her instantly, then easily held her off as she lunged rabidly for his neck. He held her down with one hand, she bit at his wrist, her small fangs distended and dripping with saliva. 

Laughing, Miguel scolded her lightly. "Child, child, I am not your dinner. But come, we will feed you." 

She growled at him, lost beyond comprehension. He simply smiled and pulled her to her feet. Taking her hand, he bared his own fangs at her. "Come and eat lovely child. Follow me." Turning on his heels, he led her out of the room and into a blood bath. 

Several guards were waiting for them, but they were barely enough to satisfy three hungry vampires. 

xxxxxx 

Once Gerain started moving, it was all Annyce could do to keep up with him. He raced through the maze of hallways with ease, intent upon his destination. Annyce sensed the fierceness of his resolve, accepting his choice, though soon growing impatient when she found herself dragged from one room to another. 

"Gerain?" she protested. 

"There!" He pointed to a large red door with bright yellow stickers on it, the international biohazard symbol drawn in massive size. 

"What is it?" Annyce questioned as he threw himself at the door, sending the heavy sheet of metal crashing into the room beyond. He didn't answer. Leaping over the fallen door, he ran into the center of the brightly lit room and stared around him with obvious hatred. 

Annyce stepped in behind him, her eyes darting from corner to corner, alert for any sign of danger. But Gerain was already in motion, with a cry of rage he began smashing everything in sight, violent waves of his arms smashing bottles and flasks, sending machines and equipment thudding to the floor. Seizing a rack of tubes, he threw it at the ceiling. Taking hold of a bench-top centrifuge, he tossed it into the air, then kicked it across the room. Opening a freezer, he took handfuls of the contents and sent them flying over his shoulders. 

Piece by piece, Killiard's research was smashed to bits. 

xxxxxx 

Rounding the corner into the lobby, Jason suddenly screamed and recoiled backwards into Chara, Killiard stumbling out of his grasp. 

Light, searing, deadly light. The vampires both fell writhing to the floor, their skin instantly beginning to burn. 

"Jason!" Mulder yelled, leaping forward in front of his friend, one arm shielding his eyes, the other holding the gun. Not bothering to aim, he started to shoot into the center of the light. Scully followed suit, placing herself between Chara and the blaring light, rapidly firing bullets into the midst of the glare. 

Glass shattered and flew in every direction, accompanied by loud cries of pain. A brilliant flash threw waves of light outward, then faded into darkness. Mulder and Scully fired for a moment longer, then cautiously unshielded their eyes. A kaleidoscope of colors swam in front of over-taxed retinas, then settled into a wavering image of bodies and broken glass. 

Two large lights, much like those used on a movie or theatre set lay broken and blackened on he floor, white-clad bodies resting prone on either side, guns abandoned in unmoving fingers. Tiny fragments of glass covered everything, like the glimmering sheen of ice on tree branches in December. 

Turning to help Jason and Chara to their feet, Mulder and Scully sent the two weakened vampires out into the night. Seizing Killiard between them, the two agents followed. 

  

**Part Nine**

Annyce stood like a stone statue in the midst of a hurricane. Gerain spun around her, laughing roughly as he tossed and smashed every loose object in the room. Using the remnants of his vampiric strength, he took hold of a big yellow cabinet and threw it over on to its side. Wrenching the door off its hinges, he grabbed the bottles inside and sent them sailing towards the opposite wall. Some made it across to splatter down the white concrete, others landed haphazardly throughout the room. 

"Gerain!" Annyce finally yelled in irritation, as one big brown bottle nearly nailed the side of her head. "This is enough." 

Growling, he ignored her protest, tossing two more bottles over his shoulder. Pulling up out of his crouch, he went for another bench top, tearing it apart. Underneath, he found a big round cylinder, its nozzle hooked to plastic tubing and a small metal cylinder attached to the bench top. Wrenching it free, he hefted the entire cylinder and tossed it at the wrecked cabinet. It came down hard, the nozzle breaking off, releasing the pungent smell of gas into the room. 

Annyce sniffed the air, her delicate features hardening into a frown. "GERAIN!" she shouted, just as he attacked the microwave. 

"NO!" she shouted, lunging towards him as he banged the small appliance against the wall, again and again. 

Seizing him by his shoulders, she pulled him away. "Stop it! Enough! We have to get out of here NOW!" 

Lifting the appliance over his head, his hand bent into its interior, he shook her off. She was insistent. "NOW Gerain." Grabbing his right biceps with steel-like fingers, she dragged him towards the door, his weakened condition making it difficult for him to resist her. 

As she pulled him out the door, he braced himself long enough to send the appliance flying back into the room. It hit a bench top, skidded, then collided with the damaged PCR machine. The collision only created a small spark, but in the gas- filled room it was enough. 

the air ignited into a firestorm, sending a blast of heat and pressure outwards. The door blew off its hinges, the windows shattered outwards, glass raining down onto the grass below. Annyce and Gerain were picked up off their feet and thrown along the length of the hall, landing in an undignified pile several feet away. 

But Annyce had not survived a couple of centuries in order to be burned alive now. Getting to her feet, she shoved and kicked at Gerain, screaming at him to move. 

xxxxxx 

The building shook with the blast, the tremors penetrating every inch of the structures. The blare of the fire alarms were barely noticeable amidst the whine of the sirens already splitting the air. But it did not take the additional sound to warn Miguel and Johann that they had to get out soon. Johann pivoted on his toes, as graceful as a ballet dancer, and seized the girl-vampire, pulling her away from her feast. 

She struggled in his grasp, spitting angrily at him, but he was adamant. "Later!" he told her sharply, the fastidious vampire grimacing in disgust at her blood-splattered mouth and chin, the bright red droplets staining the front of her shapeless hospital gown. 

"We need to find Mark and Louisa!" Miguel yelled over the buzzing of the alarms. "They must be nearby, I can feel them." 

Johann nodded. He could as well. Turning his aristocratic nose up into the air, he sniffed, then deepened his frown. "We don't have much time to search." He looked down at the young vampire wriggling in his grasp. Pinning her with his cold black gaze, he demanded. "Do you know where the others are?" 

She looked blankly at him, her eyes red-hazed and unfocused. He shook her firmly, yet gently. "Where are Mark and Louisa?" 

Comprehension dawned, and she smiled. Breaking free of his hold, she took off down the hall, skidding around a corner. Glancing at each other sharply, Miguel and Johann took off after her, their movements facile and controlled. 

She came up hard against an unmarked door, then began raking her fingers along it, kicking at it with unshod feet. The two older vampires caught up with her quickly. Johann picked her up and swung her out of the way, while Miguel broke down the door, slamming his body into the metal which came loose with a grinding shriek. 

Leaping over the twisted metal sheet that had been the door, Miguel burst into the room only to be attacked from the side as soon as he cleared the doorway. He went down under the shadowy figure, fighting its claws away from his face and neck. Knocking it over with one massive backhanded swipe, he leapt to a crouch, reaching out to pull its face closer. 

"MARK!" he yelled, taking hold of the thin, blood- starved vampire. Gray eyes swam in a sea of red, then focused. "Miguel?" The voice was no more than a thin whisper, but it was enough. Miguel dragged him to his feet and thrust him out the door at Johann, with the terse command. "Get him out of here." Then Miguel turned towards the inside of the room, racing over to the second bed. 

Louisa was still strapped to her bed, wrists and ankles bound in iron chains. Her head tossed and turned against the mattress, her hair surrounding her in knots and tangles. Miguel snapped the chains with quick flicks of his wrists, leaving the fetters encasing her limbs. Taking her by her waist, he picked her up into a fireman-carry, her head hanging down over his back, then ran out into the hall. 

"Come on!" Johann yelled, as he felt the floor begin to heat up beneath his feet. The smell of smoke and burnt plastic filled the air, while the temperature rose sharply. Miguel quickly took the lead, Louisa's body a barely noticeable burden to the large vampire. Johann herded the dazed Mark and the wayward girl in front him, pushing and prodding at them. 

Turning a corner, Miguel backed up suddenly, shielding his eyes against Louisa. "Go back!" he screamed, as a tongue of blazing fire shot around the corner, just barely missing Miguel. Johann took his two charges by the arm and threw them back down the hall. They stumbled, then recovered, the urgency of their rescuers finally penetrating. And they ran. Heedlessly, recklessly, feet catching and recovering, bouncing against the walls, but always pushing forward. 

"WAIT!" Johann screamed, pointing to his left. "THIS WAY!" Miguel pivoted instantly, while Mark took hold of the girl and led her back around. All five raced down the side hallway, until they came up short at a dead end. A dead end - with a window. 

Dumping Louisa to the floor, Miguel stepped back, then threw himself forward, his hands wrapped around his head to protect it from the glass which shattered on impact. Then he was out into the night, falling - falling - falling - then striking soft damp grass with a thud. Rolling over, he stood up and waved his hands up towards the window. 

Johann saw him, and turned to the others. "Go! Go!" he urged them, shoving the girl in the back as she ran by him first, followed closely be Mark. Then Johann picked up the still- unaware Louisa and tossed her body out the window. When he saw her land half-on top of Mark, he grinned, then got up on the window ledge. One last look behind him saw the fire blazing closer, forcing him to crouch and leap with little aim. He hit the ground hard, but painlessly, and was on his feet in seconds, staring upwards as the red flames threw sparks out the window he had only just come through. 

xxxxxx 

"Are you ok?" Scully asked Jason anxiously as they halted under the cover of the trees just beyond the gate. 

"I'm fine," he responded brusquely, his mind elsewhere. Scully studied him, both relieved and amazed to see that his abnormally reddened skin was rapidly fading into its natural pallor. Ignoring her reaction, Jason urgently shoved the two humans deeper into the grove. 

"Get them out of here," Jason ordered Chara, turning on his heels back towards the building they had just escaped. 

"No, Jason!" Mulder was quick to get between the vampire and still-open gate. "You can't go back in there - not alone." 

Jason glared at the taller man. "I have to get the others out!" 

"If you have to go back in, fine - but I'm going with you." Mulder was adamant. 

So was Jason. "No you are not," he replied evenly. They stared angrily at each other, neither willing to give an inch. 

"We're wasting time," Scully broke into the silence. "If you go back in, Jason, then we all do." She stepped up beside Mulder, then started walking towards the faint glow of the open doors in the distance. 

"No!" Jason leapt to hold them back. "It's too dangerous. I have to do this, you do not. Wait for me. By the cars." His voice shifted from angry determination to a painful whisper. "Please." 

"Jason," Mulder felt his heart clutch with understanding. He caught Scully gazing at him with a knowing expression on her face. He met her eyes briefly, an instant of total communication, then he faced Jason again, his hands waving helplessly in the air as he strove for the words. 

"I can't let you go back in there alone anymore than you could let me. You can't always protect me, Jason. I'm not a child to be kept from harm, and neither is Scully. You kept your promise, Jason, now you have to accept me for ME." Mulder flinched inwardly as he saw his words strike home. The flicker of anguish on Jason's pale features was brief and contained within an instant, but it had been as sharp as a knife's edge. 

"Jason," Scully reached out to graze his arm with her fingertips. "Mulder is right. When," she swallowed hard, then forced the words out. "When I was hurt badly last year, Mulder wanted to protect me, to keep me from any further harm. What he had to learn then - and I'm not sure he has learned it yet, is that he has to trust me to handle myself as his partner. He has to respect my ability to take my share of the risk and the responsibility. His running off alone is what got him into this mess, and many before it." She threw him a sharp glance that told him better than any words that he hadn't heard the last of it. He bowed his head in silent apology. "Don't make that same mistake, Jason. Mulder and I would rather be with you facing the danger, than sitting out here worrying ourselves sick. You - we - have a better chance if we work together and trust each other. We have to trust each other." 

"They are right, Jason," Chara finally entered the conversation. "Take Mulder and go." She looked down with disgust at Killiard who was watching them all with a look of dazed confusion on his craggy face. "Scully and I will deal with him, and watch for danger." 

Scully opened her mouth to protest, but Mulder was faster. "Good. Come on Jason," he began striding back towards the building. 

Jason still didn't like this at all, but he was hardly going to let Mulder go on without him. With a sudden burst of motion, he easily caught up with the already running agent, then passed him. 

But just as they reached the edge of the concrete parking lot, a sudden blast shook the air. Glass and debris flew out of a window on the second floor of the building. The air grew still, then almost visibly rushed back in towards the source of the explosion, then burst out again, this time red and burning with bright flickers of flame. 

"Mulder, Jason!!!!" Chara and Scully screamed at once, as a silvery-black rain fell down upon the two figures standing beneath the conflagration. One broke his position and dived for the other, both tumbling to the pavement. 

"Noooo," a strangled cry came from Killiard's lips as his eyes reflected the glow of the fire. "Cynthia...my work..." He tried to stand, making it to his knees, and began scrambling towards the building. Chara took hold of him by the back collar of his lab coat and lifted him easily off the ground. "This is your fault," she hissed in his ear, then she sent him flying backwards to strike a tree and fall to land in a heap upon the ground. He moaned, then lay still. 

Scully was already running towards Mulder and Jason, shrugging her overcoat off her arms so that she could cover her head with it. Chara caught up with her quickly, pacing with the ease of a lioness on the hunt. 

"Mulder, Jason?" Scully knelt down beside them, winging out her arms and the coat they bore to create a make- shift shelter from the burning ashes and sparks that drifted downwards. 

"Scully," Mulder groaned as he shifted beneath Jason's weight. Jason picked his head up, then rolled off to the side, letting out a cry of pain as his outflung arm was struck by a heated piece of metal. Drawing the arm in to his side, he rocked forward onto his knees. Chara was there to help him, her strong, long-fingered hands drawing him to his feet. 

Scully took hold of Mulder, pulling on him with urgency. He needed little encouragement, once his feet were underneath him, he wrapped his arm around her waist and they hurried away from the explosion site. 

None of them stopped until they had passed back through the open gate and reached the shelter of the trees. Soon they were grouped in a circle on the grass, Killiard laying a few feet beyond. The humans were gasping for breath, their lungs rasping with each gulp of air. The vampires were motionless except for the flicker of their eyes, darting from each other to their companions, to the blazing side of the building. 

Finally it was Chara who spoke what everyone was thinking. "Do you think they made it out?" 

"The explosion was localized," Scully responded. "If they weren't too close to it, they'd be okay." The others were silent, knowing that if the vampires did live through the fire, they would still suffer intense, excruciating pain. 

"Can you sense them?" Mulder asked, looking from Chara to Jason, worry mixed with the inevitable curiosity. 

"Maybe," Jason closed his eyes for a moment, his gaunt features stilling into an ivory mask. Chara's lovely features calmed also, her blue eyes darkening into deep azure pools as her mind turned first inward, then outward. 

Mulder and Scully shared a glance, Mulder's taut with excitement, Scully's drawn and concerned. They watched the vampires concentrate for several long, tense minutes. Then, finally, Chara spoke, her voice filled with triumph and relief. 

"They are alive." 

xxxxxx 

They gathered in the shelter of the trees near the PharmCo Building, their cars lining the nearby road. The IntelliGene building was a blazing inferno in the distance, throwing a bright sheen of red light across the sky. Already, fire trucks and ambulances were converging on the scene, rubber coated men holding hoses and ladders, forcing streams of shimmering water against the raging flames. 

Not given to displays of emotion, the vampires expressed their relief and satisfaction quietly, but the smiles were genuine. Mulder and Scully hung back on the edge of the circle, not sure of their place or their welcome. Jason, too held himself back, standing poised between the two agents and the other vampires. 

Killiard had been carried and dumped with little concern under a tree, and then forgotten. He came slowly to consciousness, and his eyes lit up with panic when they finally opened. Catching site of his daughter so close to the ragged figure of the vampire who had stolen her from him, he forced his feet under him, using the nearest tree as a support. 

"Get away from her. Cynthia! Get away from them!" His voice, nearly inaudible at first, rose up into a shriek. "Get away from my daughter, you fiends!" 

They all turned as one to face him, nine pairs of reddened eyes glaring at him with undisguised hatred and contempt. Gerain and Mark were the closest, and they stepped toward him, baring their fangs. 

"No!" Cynthia shouted, reaching out to grab their arms. They parted to allow her to come between them. "He is mine," she told them bitterly. Her long brown hair whipping around her elven-featured face, she turned merciless red eyes on her father's face. "Mine." 

All of the vampires backed away in silent accord, spreading out into a circle surrounding father and daughter. Mulder and Scully stepped forward towards Jason, coming to a halt just behind him. He barely acknowledged their presence, simply spreading his arms wider to hold them back. 

"Cynthia," Killiard whispered. "You are ill. He, they have infected you with this disease. But I can cure you. I am... was... close to finding a cure. I know I can. Let me help you, Cindy, love." He pleaded, stretching his arms wide to gather her in. 

She stepped closer, but her face showed no emotion. 

"No, father," she said angrily. "I chose this. You had no right to keep me prisoner, to kidnap my friends. You starved me, you let me scream with hunger. You never cared about me, until I was a case to study. All you care about is your work. But that is finished now, and so are you." She closed in on him until only inches separated them. Then she bared her fangs. 

"No, Cynthia....No!" His scream echoed out into the night, then gurgled to a stop as she fell upon him. Forcing him to the ground, she tore into his neck, her hair whipping around them as she bit deep and drank - drawing the blood out of him in a fury of violent need. 

"Stop her!" Scully yelled, pushing at Jason as he tried to prevent her from interfering. Mulder tried to push past while Jason held tightly to a struggling Scully, but Chara blocked his way. 

Her head only reaching to the top of his shoulder, she was nonetheless formidable as she stared him down. "You must not interfere." 

"She's going to kill him," he protested, trying to push her out of the way, but she was even stronger than he had expected. Her hands were like steel on his arms as she lifted him up off the ground. 

"It is her right," she told him, even as she held him suspended in the air. 

"It's wrong," he insisted, refusing to let his fear show. Mulder's jaw tightened and his eyes darkened as he glared down at the vampire supporting him above the ground. "I can't allow her to kill him." 

Realizing that she was hardly going to be swayed by that, he tried another tack. "Chara, his work is destroyed already, and we have him on several charges of kidnapping. Scully and I can put him away for a long time where he will be of no danger to any of you. If she kills him, we will have to arrest her. You don't want that." His voice rose to a shout. "Let us take him, and you are safe. Let her kill him, and the secret of what you are will become public knowledge." 

Chara hesitated at that, lowering him to the ground. He took a deep breath in relief as his feet touched solid earth. "Listen to me," he insisted. "We need to find out who in the government knows about you! These men are dangerous, and Killiard is our only link to them. We - YOU - need him alive!" 

"Mulder's right," Scully supported, her eyes shooting sparks at Jason, who was still holding her clasped against him. "The lab here may be destroyed, but what if there are copies elsewhere. What if they can replicate his work. We need more answers." 

Jason nodded, then turned to Chara. She frowned, but gave her agreement. They stepped forward, but Gerain moved to stop them. "He is too dangerous to us alive, and she has the right to take his life. How do we know we can trust these humans?" 

Jason angrily confronted the older vampire. "Without them, you'd still be trapped in there. They are bloodsworn to me, they will not betray me." 

"You are blinded by lust and human emotions," Gerain sneered. "You have always held too closely to your humanity." His tone turned that into a dirty word. "He is Cynthia's rightful prey. You will not interfere." 

"Killiard was not alone in what he did. Do you want the others to go free?" Chara's sculptured features were stark and cold. 

"No. We will find them." Gerain responded with equal determination. 

"How?" Jason asked. "Where would you even begin?" 

"We..." Gerain shook his head, exhaustion and starvation slowing down his mind. A part of him knew they were right, but his anger towards the man who had tortured him would not let go. He growled with impotent rage. 

"Enough," Jason said grimly, forcing his way towards Cynthia. But Annyce was there first, and she pulled Cynthia up from her father's body, holding the girl tightly as she struggled to go back to her feast. 

"Enough, child," the silver-haired vampire said firmly. "You must learn control." 

Jason knelt by Killiard, reaching out to examine the oozing wound in his throat. His mouth tightened into a thin line as he rose to his feet. Mulder and Scully pushed past Chara and Gerain to join him, but he shook his head at them as they approached. 

Mulder stopped beside Jason while Scully fell to her knees beside the scientist's body. It did not take long to confirm Jason's diagnosis. 

"He's dead," she said, turning angry blue eyes up at Mulder and Jason. They turned their eyes onto Cynthia who was now resting limp in Annyce's arms. 

"You cannot arrest her." This statement came from Chara as she came up beside Scully. 

"Why not?" Scully asked boldly, standing up face to face with the black-haired vampire. 

Chara gave her a smile that did not touch more than the edges of her red lips. "How would your system handle a real vampire? Would you turn her back over to them?" She gestured at the burning building. "Because that is what will happen, is it not?" 

Scully grimaced, wishing she could say otherwise, but she knew the truth of Chara's words. Arresting Cynthia would assure that she ended up in the hands of men who would experiment on her and that was too dangerous. But they also couldn't let her go free. 

"We can't release her either," Scully retorted. "She is far too dangerous." 

"We will take care of her," Annyce answered. "She is young. The blood-lust is too new, she has not yet been taught control. We can teach her." 

"Yes, that is for the best," Miguel spoke for the first time. "She will learn." 

Scully didn't like this at all and said so stubbornly. 

Mulder reached out for her. "I'm not happy about it either, Scully. But I don't see a better alternative. We can't let THEM have her, at least the other vampires will be able to keep her under control until her mind recovers. Technically she's the victim of her father's abuse. Put aside the vampire issue, and she'd probably be released into psychiatric care. Perhaps this is the best solution." 

"Mulder," Scully protested. "She just murdered her father!" 

"I know, Scully. I know. But if we take her in, then either the existence of vampires becomes public knowledge, or she simply gets wisked away by the black ops people. Possibly both. Either way, the bad guys get a vampire to experiment on and the others get exposed. Do you want to put Jason in that kind of risk?" 

Scully eyed the fair vampire, her emotions in a now- familiar tangle. As angry as she was with him at the moment, she cared too much for him to want to see him in danger. Again, she was trapped in a situation that her training and beliefs could not help her resolve. 

'Why me?' she thought bitterly, even as a hysterical giggle rose in her throat. Only Mulder could get them into this kind of mess. And she had to be foolish enough to love the man. Why, oh why, couldn't she have fallen in love with some nice surgeon or architect or someone nice and normal? Nope, she had to fall head over heels for the one man on the whole planet who could stand here surrounded by nine REAL vampires and look totally at ease with it. 

"Mulder," she shook her head, then looked over at Jason. There was another problem. Admit it, Dana, she told herself, your feelings for Jason may not equal those for Mulder, but they were pretty damn strong. 

Scully stared around her at the vampires who were watching her with expressionless faces, their eyes lit with the predatory red color. A new burst of fear hit her, but she refused to bow to the feeling. Proudly, she straightened her back and held her head high. "Okay," she said, inwardly amazed to hear her voice sound so cool and natural. "If you think its the best solution, then so be it." Brushing at her clothes, she calmly walked past them towards the car, leaving both Mulder and Jason staring after her in surprise. 

  

**Part Ten**

Three A.M. Mulder, Jason and Scully had returned to Mulder's apartment out of pure habit. All three were in a slight state of shock - or perhaps it was just pure exhaustion. Scully couldn't tell, and didn't care. Perching herself on the edge of the still-open sofa bed, she rubbed at the back of her neck. 

Mulder paced the room like a caged panther, while Jason stood like a statue beside the desk. The silence between them was heavy with unspoken emotion, electricity sparking between them when their eyes met. 

"She'll be taken care of," Jason finally spoke, his mouth barely moving with the words. 

"The building was destroyed completely," Mulder responded. Running his hands through his hair, he paused in mid- stride. "We have no way of knowing what was gotten out, if anything. Or who knows about the work." 

"Or about us," Jason added. Mulder nodded. He bit at his lower lip, his eyes focused at an empty spot of air in the center of the room. "I don't think they'll come after you - after the vampires - for a while. They will want time to evaluate the situation. They could consider it too dangerous." Mulder's tone was doubtful. 

"We'll cope with it when - or if - it happens," Jason replied. "We've been hunted before and survived." He smiled bitterly. "We are experts at survival." 

"You've never dealt with these people before," Mulder argued tensely. He was coiled up like a tightly wound spring, anxiety and frustration leaching from him in waves. He needed to do something, but couldn't decide what. 

Jason shrugged his shoulders lightly, spreading his hands wide. He'd survived wars and crusades, witch-hunts and inquisitions. He figured he'd survive this too, and if he didn't? That hardly seemed to matter much either. He was suddenly very, very tired. 

Silence fell among them again, and stayed. Mulder resumed his pacing, Scully sat wearily on the bed, her eyes traveling from one to the other and back again. Jason stood where he was, wondering if there was something he should say or do. He knew Scully was still angry with him, he could feel the heat of her eyes on him. And Mulder's words from before the explosion kept haunting him. Perhaps the man was right, perhaps Jason had been trying too hard to force him into being what Jason needed him to be. Perhaps it was time for Jason to leave these two humans to their mortal lives, and their love for each other. 

"I should go," he said, breaking the silence abruptly. Mulder and Scully stared at him as he moved towards the door, both lost in their own thoughts. Mulder was the first to respond, racing after Jason, he caught the vampire as his pale hand closed on the door knob. 

"No," Mulder said. He paused as Jason turned piercing green eyes on his face. Mulder's voice deepened into utter sincerity. "Don't go." 

Jason paused, one hand still on the door knob, while he raised the other to touch Mulder's cheek. "It might be best," he whispered. 

"No." Neither man had noticed Scully's approach until she spoke. Green and hazel gazes turned to fall upon her face as she looked up at them. Placing one hand on each of their arms, she smiled at them each in turn. She remembered her own words to Jason, spoken earlier. She was still a little angry with both men, and intended to give them each an earful later - Mulder for going off alone, and Jason for his part in the vampire's vigilante- style justice. But for now it was time to follow her own advice and seize what happiness life could give them in these precious pre-dawn hours. The decision lifted a weight off her chest, bringing with it a sense of peace and certainty. 

"Stay, Jason," she said, sliding her hand down his arm to close upon his hand. "Stay with us." She took Mulder's hand also, and tugged on them both. 

"Dana?" Mulder turned her name into a question as she led them both towards the bed. 

Her smile deepened. 

  

The End 


End file.
